Where All Paths Lead
by Jaili
Summary: Raynor's Raiders are defeated in the final battle to use the Xel'Naga artifact against Kerrigan. The Queen of Blades is reluctant to simply kill some of the most cunning and brave Terrans in the galaxy, however. They could only pray to be that lucky. Spoilers from the games/books/everything. Set your phasers to "suspension of disbelief" and strap yourselves in boys.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! At the bottom of this page you'll see a brief summary/the gist of this story, if you just want to know where it's going. Also, some grammars may have been harmed in the making of this, my apolagies.**

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><p>Ash falling from the sky was tranquil in comparison to the chaos and horror on the ground below. On Char, home world of the Zerg Swarm, the Terrans were losing their final battle against The Queen of Blades, Kerrigan. Jim Raynor, leader of the final assault, paused to look grimly on the scene around him. The assembled Xel'Naga artifact fell to pieces as a truly massive Ultralisk tore through it with one long kaiser blade, it was the death knell of their mission. "Shit! The Artifact has been destroyed. Men, this is it- kill every one of them sons a bitches, its the least we can do before we die!" Jim's white skull visor clapped shut and he returned to firing HEV rounds into the oncoming endless waves of Zerg, big and small.<p>

Beside Jim, an ally to the end, Tychus was cursing something fierce. "Get thawed out just to join you in getting eaten by god damned aliens, Jimmy. You're a son of a bitch!" Tychus' roaring in his comm was almost as bad as the disjointed screams of his men and the aliens as they ripped and blasted each other apart. By the time they had fallen back to a high rise, shoulder to shoulder and back to back, a mountain of Zerg either in the throws of death or twitching corpses around them, the Adjutant's cold voice overrode all other transmissions eerily.

"Alert. Class twelve psionic waveform approaching. The Queen of Blades is coming." The computer was refreshingly indifferent to their demise, although once its alert had finished Jim realized that the comm had fallen almost silent but for him and the men in his immediate vicinity. Warfield, who had remained behind to secure their foothold on Char in a fortress overlooking a body-riddled trench, had announced that Nidus Worms were breaking through their defenses over an hour ago, and it was his last transmission. Matt Horner, commander of the Hyperion, the flagship of Raynor's Raiders, had also announced massive bombardment in space and gone silent some time ago.

The Adjutant was correct- Kerrigan was coming. Below them and their mountain of kills, a sea of Zerg roared, stomped and hissed in triumph, no longer attempting to advance into range of gun fire. "Jimmy," Tychus growled as he puffed on his worn stump of a cigar. "she's coming. We could end this here." Jim had the good grace to snort a ragged, tired laugh.

"You don't have a clue, Tychus. If we shoot anyone, we should shoot ourselves. There are worse things than dying, you've seen as much." Jim's words were chilling as the implications set in for Tychus, he had indeed seen the infested.

"Got some shredder grenades left, could go out with a bang." Tychus grumbled, holding one up for approval.

"Yeah. That'll do, best do it quick. I can see her." Jim's heart raced, death had never felt so close when he saw the burning eyes of his former love below. The Zerg had parted around Sarah Kerrigan as she all but sauntered to them, she had been approaching from her Hive for some time, confident in victory.

Standing at the base of their man-made mountain of death, Kerrigan smiled and planted a foot on the flat of a large dismembered kaiser blade. When she spoke, her voice pierced into their minds like a hot knife. Some of the lesser men left in their small number let out startled shouts of pain while others hissed their discomfort, but Jim knew it like a taunting caress. It wasn't his first rodeo against the Queen of Blades, after all.

"You've lost, Jim. Your forces have been crushed on every front: land, air, space. The Xel'Naga artifact has been destroyed, and you had completely relied on it. I thought you were smarter than that." They didn't have to see her face to know she was smiling.

"You were the love of my life, and I would fight through hell and back to save you. Nobody will ever be able to say I didn't try." Jim struggled to voice his words past the tightness in his throat, but he spat them out all the same. "My only regret is taking so many good men to hell with me." From the corner of his eye he saw Tychus' grip on the frag grenade shift, thumb ready to activate it.

"Ah ah." Kerrigan raised her hand sharply, wagging a clawed finger at them and grinning. "You haven't entered hell yet, Jim. I plan on taking you and your friends there. Personally." Chuckling softly, she tilted her head and started striding up the hill of corpses to them. "Can't have you blowing yourselves up."

"Jimmy." Tychus' voice picked up immediately, sounding strained. "I can't move. I can't use the grenade." The panic in his old friend's voice was raw, identical to the time when he had discovered the name of the bounty hunter that was about to kill them over seven years ago.

"Sarah, you bitch!" Jim growled, straining to move immediately after Tychus alerted him to the fact that he could not. Sweat beaded down his face as Kerrigan crested the hill mere feet away, the dismayed cries of his last few good men rang clearly in his ears as they clued in to their fates. "Just kill them, take me. I'm the one who lead them here, and they were just following orders. You know damn well what that is like!"

Smirking, Kerrigan plucked the grenade from Tychus' armored fist casually, looking over the assembled men, less than ten in total. Locking eyes with Jim, she telekinetically pulled apart the grenade and let its pieces and powder tumble from her hand uselessly. "Wish granted, Jim." The sound behind him and Tychus was sickening, and Jim could only guess what she had just done to his last few good men. It sounded like their suits had been crumpled like a can in a fist, but there was mercifully no cries of pain. Tychus, however, remained solid beside him. "Your friend gets to stay." She teased.

"Damn you to hell, Jim!" Tychus snapped as Kerrigan raised a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, all light fell away as both men were rendered unconscious with a mere thought.

Getting Jim, Tychus and Warfield into space via Zerg methods would have been completely futile had she not made sure their suits were undamaged. As it was, once the remaining Terrans on Char who were of no use to Kerrigan were annihilated, she brought her little _projects_ to the Leviathan orbiting Char. While the final ground battle was in full swing, Kerrigan directed her Leviathan to capture the Hyperion with as little damage done to it as possible. The Hyperion was currently stuck to the Leviathan's side with creep. The grand ship would have been hard to spot if it had not been still firing into the flesh of the Leviathan with its cannons in a futile effort to do some damage before destruction.

Jim, Tychus and Warfield were taken to an evolution chamber where they would be imprisoned. Kerrigan couldn't help but smile to herself more, winning felt good after all. Through the eyes of the swarm, she observed the Hyperion and its condition as she made her own way to it. "You have a few more friends I am interested in, Jim." She commented to herself, entertained.

"Alert. Class twelve psionic waveform detected. The Queen of Blades is-"

"Shut up! As if this wasn't bad enough!" Stressed to the point of frantic, Matt Horner slammed his fist on the corner of the console he was giving commands from. As if he couldn't see her tearing a hole in the ship to get in. The ship itself wasn't going anywhere- as soon as the Leviathan caught the Hyperion in its tentacles, it had forced the ship to press against its flesh. From there, creep stuck to and seeped into the very foundations of the ship, rooting it to the Leviathan. Matt and his men aboard the ship had been firing at any organism in reach since then, although no mass of Zerg had tried to board them until now.

Kerrigan had taken her time looking for the best point of entry, it would not do to accidentally kill any of the people she wanted to keep, after all. Eventually she settled on telekinetically prying the doors of a small ship hangar bay open and sealing them shut immediately after entering by herself. Nobody even died. Yet.

"Greetings, denizens of the Hyperion." Kerrigan's voice pierced the minds of each and every man and woman aboard simultaneously. With her mind twisted by the Zerg, it was actually difficult to come down to the level of Terrans to do this kind of communication with them, they were in a way alien to her now. "You might have noticed that your ship is currently stuck to mine. I may yet let you live if you supply me with the following people: Matt Horner, Egon Stetmann and Rory Swann. Or you could spare your fellow Terrans lives by simply coming to me quietly. Your choice." It was a lie of course, not a single man or woman on this ship was going to be alive, or a Terran anymore, by the time Kerrigan was done. She had better things to do than chase a bunch of people around though.

"W-what?" Egon Stetmann, brows furrowed in pain, was writing notes as fast and furious as he could about the Zerg intrusion in his mind when his name was spoken. It was like a bucket of icy water on his head. As silence settled over the ship, minus the continually blaring alarm system, he understood what he had to do. Placing his notepad down, Egon Stetmann strode from the lab with a determination and bravery he did not feel.

_Bang_ "OW-What in the hell?" Rory Swann, Chief Engineer of the Hyperion, was sweating bullets as he heard- no, _felt_ the Queen of Blades talking, and saying his name! He held his head with his remaining hand, the intrusion in his mind hurt: but so did banging his head on a pipe. The Firebats he had been directing to carefully sear away the creep as it worked its way into the ship had stopped burning, standing and looking at him expectantly. Glaring, he snapped "Don't do nothin' your gonna regret boys, get back to work!" Snapping his steel claw at them, they turned away from him and got back to work as ordered. His heart was heavy though, there was no way Rory Swann was going to run away from some Zerg queen bitch if there was a chance he could save lives. Placing his hand-held torch in a safe spot, Swann strode with purpose into the ship.

Matt Horner, now he had already been running towards where Kerrigan had made her entry point in the ship, Gauss rifle clumsily held aloft. He was the last person who should be wielding a gun, but he wasn't going to let Kerrigan kill everyone lying down. "Adjutant," Huffing and running through a dim hallway, Horner raced to his destination and doom.

"Yes Commander?"

"Send out a message to anyone who'll hear it: The Queen of Blades has won, everyone needs to know what happened here and react accordingly." Slamming his hand onto an identification pad, Horner charged into the small hangar bay before the door was half way open, rifle in hand, and froze.

"Message sent, Commander."

"Hello, Matt. Glad to finally meet the brains behind Jim's operations." Sarah Kerrigan was so much more terrible in person, in Horners opinion.

"That's rude." Kerrigan chided, beckoning Horner over with a casual wave. Dropping the rifle to the ground, Horner scowled.

"You're not letting anyone go, are you?" The looks on Swann and Stetmann's faces, standing behind and on either side of Kerrigan- giving her ghastly wing blades plenty of room, said it all before she could.

"At least they'll just be dead. You noble types can be thankful for that, I'm sure." Snide and smirking, Kerrigan turned away from Horner and brushed past the two pale-faced men. Resigned to their fates, all three followed to the doorway into space. When Kerrigan pulled apart the doors their startled cries fell off quickly- the Leviathan had an atmosphere of its own, apparently, and no one was sucked into the vacuum of space or robbed of oxygen. _Although_, Stetmann's ever scientific mind whirred, _the atmosphere is much harder to breath in._

"You came so much quieter than I thought you would, Jim and his friends fought much harder." Kerrigan critiqued as they stepped onto the fleshy ground and started their grim walk into what might have literally been the belly of the beast.

"What did you do to Jim?" Horner snapped, although all three of them jumped fearfully when a pack of Zerglings thundered past them, chittering and snapping, and leaped into the open bay doorway.

"Nothing that I'm not going to do to you." A weathered looking Zergling with a broken tusk sidled up beside Kerrigan, placing its head directly under her hand for pets much like a domesticated animal would.

A muttered _fascinating_ earned Stetmann a solid elbow in the ribs by Swann, who was looking in disgust around them until he couldn't handle it anymore and focused on Kerrigan's back, not that it was much better. What they did not see were the Defilers and Infestors slipping into the open ship once they were out of sight. Wouldn't due to make them decide to fight, Kerrigan wanted the three in tact after all.

Smoke rose from Tychus' open helmet. When you're glued to a wall by alien goo beside your friends, wasn't much else you could do but take a drag. They were there, strung up like puppets beside him, in a chamber filled with green pools and cocoons. Groggy, Tychus rumbled "Any of you awake, or alive?" He had been the first to rise to consciousness and attempting to contact Raynor and Warfield since, he knew they were there on either side of him though, he could turn his head enough to see that much. He had also seen a few Zerg, ones that he had never seen before, but they were being left alone.

"Findlay? I'll be damned. You're not here to rescue me again, are you? Because that'd be mighty nice right about now." Warfield, he sounded groggy and out of sorts too. Whatever Kerrigan did to put them under sure was powerful. A noncommittal grunt to Tychus' left also alerted him of Jim's returning consciousness.

"No such luck, Warfield. Not that I'd go charging into some alien mother ship to save your sorry ass, either." Tychus snorted, earning a weak chuckle from Warfield in return.

"End of the road. I had hoped the Zerg were just going to kill me, no luck there either it seems."

"No. Queen bitch has some sorta _plan_ for us. All too happy to gloat over a win. It's bad sportsmanship, that is."

"Tychus, the last thing I need you doin' is remindin' me about what is gonna happen to us right now." Raynor finally piped up, gravelly but coherent.

"Too bad, Jimmy. Not unless you got a plan to get us out of this mess that you got us in-"

"Sir!"

"Matt?" Raynor sounded genuinely confused.

"Yes sir, all of us sir."

"St-stetmann? The hell's goin' on?" The three men stuck to the wall saw Horner, Stetmann and Swann walk into view, each as pale and spooked looking as the next, but none the worse for wear. Kerrigan striding behind them wearing a shit eating grin set Jim to raging in a second.

"Frigid bitch! What have you done?"

"Nothing yet, Jim. Maybe I just want you to see your friends one last time before I dismember you piece by piece?"

"I know you, you aren't even capable of a kindness like that!" Jim's suit groaned as he strained at the creep holding him furiously. Kerrigan's grin could only broaden.

"Now now. As guests of honor, you can choose your place on the wall. I promise." Tychus took a long drag from his cigar and spat it out over the rim of his suit, and Warfield had gone silent, brooding. Soon they were all in a row, stuck to the wall in a macabre display as the creep grasped, clung and coiled around them.

"I'll leave you boys to think about things for a while. I have some more... clean up to do." Smiling the entire time, Kerrigan left them.

Later, in the central nervous system of the Leviathan...

"Their essence brings nothing to Swarm. Useless." Abathur complained, clawed hands grasped together. He did not understand, and that was fine.

"Abathur." Kerrigan stood in the center of the room, overlooking char through the eye of the Leviathan. "Who leads the swarm?"

"Queen of Blades."

"Yes, and this is why I lead the swarm and you do not. You will not touch them, they are mine. Leave them be."

"As Queen commands." Kerrigan didn't need to be the most powerful psychic in the galaxy to know Abathur was frustrated, she was taking his passion from him after all. But she would not let him break bones and twist genes with this particular group, they were hers- and Kerrigan had a plan.

"My Queen." Izsha, the depository of Kerrigan's memories and plans, what was essentially the Zergs version of the Terran Adjutant, patiently waited for her Queens attention.

"What, Izsha?"

"All of your Brood Mothers and their charges are now in space and en route to Char, as you instructed."

"Good. Everything is going as planned. Alert me if anything changes, Izsha. I have business to attend to."

"As her Majesty wishes." Kerrigan did not bother waiting for Izsha's response, already striding out of the chamber.

Back in a certain spawning chamber...

"You just gave up?" Tychus was incredulous.

"You wouldn't understand sacrificing for the greater good, convict." Matt Horner and Tychus had been going at it for a while now, and everyone else remained silent but agitated.

"I'm here with the rest of you, aren't I? And if I get out of this, I'm gonna beat your egg head in!" The sounds of Tychus' suit straining against the creep, whirring and groaning, entertained everyone briefly before Horner came back more heated than ever.

"Oh yeah? So why is your suit rigged, convict? If you really understood taking the fall for someone, you'd still be on ice. Who's your puppet master, huh?"

Tychus' voice was almost a growl at that point. "Kill Kerrigan, the damn mistress of genocide, and be free? Who wouldn't take that deal? Was worth a shot, and it was Mengsk, by the way."

"Seriously?" Raynor piped up, not believing his ears. "I knew you'd gotten yourself into some shit Tychus, but going with Mengsk behind my back?"

"Open your damned ears Jimmy. You can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same in my shoes." The bickering returned immediately, each man throwing in their two cents and frustrating the other even more. Warfield had remained silent up until then.

"Shut it! Just shut it! You damned fools. All of my men are dead and so are yours. All we got now is each other until this is over. Bickering ain't gonna do anything for anyone. Wont bring them back from the dead and wont keep us from _being_ dead! So pardon me if I don't give a damn who's got some rigged suit and who hurt who's feelings. I want _ideas_ and _plans_. So if you don't got either of those, you can can it!" Silence fell over them once again, and Raynor had to quietly admire the mans way with words.

"He's right. Stetmann." Refocused, Jim looked to his left- where Stetmann chose to be, and drew his attention.

"Yes, sir?"

"Now you've been quiet this whole time, but I can hear your mind racing. Tell me what you got."

Even though he was covered damn near head to toe in Zerg creep, Stetmann sounded excited. "Sir, I wish I had my tools with me to examine it but I _think_ this living ship, Leviathan, could be very easily killed if we found it's central nervous system. It has to have one. It's just a matter of-"

"Yeah that's great, egghead. Too bad this entire ship is packed with Zerg, the Queen of Blades herself and oh yeah- we're glued to the god damned walls." Tychus snapped, silencing Stetmann who apparently didn't have a follow up. Raynor sighed tiredly.

"Swann."

"I ain't got no plans Jim. I'm a miner and engineer, not some alien exterminator."

"Right."

When Kerrigan emerged from a fleshy mound in the floor, Stetmann let out a decidedly girly scream. Wing blades rising up and planting into the floor with decisive _shtk_ sounds, Kerrigan raised herself up and landed on her feet as if coming out of fleshy holes in the ground were the most natural thing. "So." Her voice was biting, red glowing eyes immediately locking with Tychus' warm amber ones. "Mengsk took you out of prison to kill _me_?" Her tone was angry and maybe a little confused. "And he rigged your suit too, just to make sure you would do it if you had the chance, hm?" Huffing, she stepped up to Tychus' and glanced over his suit, remarking in a thoughtful tone as her hatred of Mengsk lowered to a simmer- he'd get his after all, now was a time for celebration. "Well Mengsk has always been a fool, doesn't surprise me."

"Well at least we agree on something." Tychus muttered, staring into her eyes, challenging.

"Tychus..." Raynor's tone was low and warning, but unheeded.

"You look like a stereotypical brute, but you're rather clever aren't you?" Kerrigan hissed, picking at threads of his thoughts, her altered mind stringing them together in different ways until they came to make sense. Tychus was grimacing from the pain of the intrusion, but held her gaze- to his credit. "I see how Jim came to rely on you. He's done worse, believe me." Grinning wickedly, Kerrigan's bladed fingertips struck once, twice, three times in quick succession and she stepped back as Tychus stumbled forwards, freed from the creep.

"Tychus, don't!" Jim shouted, as if it would make a difference in his friends next action. Tychus' mechanized fists clenched and he lashed out with a bellow. Kerrigan casually stepped to the side and with a slight gesture the entire arm and shoulder of Tychus' suit disassembled and fell to the living floor. Committed to the punch but now suddenly lacking several hundred pounds of weight, Tychus flew forwards and barely caught his balance before stumbling back in confusion. He only had a moment to look at and remember what his bare arm and hand actually looked like before Kerrigan lashed out with a savage laugh.

The blades Kerrigan was so well known for struck, and Tychus would have been impaled through the chest had he not reacted quickly to turn and raise his armored shoulder for protection and to deflect the full power of the blow. As a sharp screech rang out, a chunk of the metal giving way to the deadly blades, Kerrigan made a more aggressive gesture with her fist and the entire suit arm and shoulder fell to pieces just as the first had. "Fight Terran! You win your freedom if you kill me, after all!" Laughing viciously, Kerrigan pressed her offensive and Tychus could only be pressed back and away from his friends on the wall as he used his remaining steel-clad body parts to defend from the onslaught. Egon was watching in panicked horror, completely unused to combat, while Warfield, Matt and Jim were observing with more critical eyes. Swanns eyes were glazed as he remembered the struggle against a superior, unstoppable force, and though the scoundrel had roughed him up in the Cantina, Tychus had Swanns sympathy just then.

"What's your damn game Kerrigan?!" Jim shouted, watching as Tychus' defenses were being sliced and pried off piece by piece, although his big friend was holding his own to everyone- including Kerrigans- surprise.

When one full wing of blades pierced the flesh beneath his feet and between his still mechanized legs, Tychus struck with a throaty roar. Stepping forwards and trapping the delicate-looking instrument of death in place with his legs, pinching it in place with mechanical thighs the size of tree trunks, Tychus brought both fists up and down in a heavy overhead blow to Kerrigan's shoulders. She crumpled heavily to the ground with a grunt.

"YEAH!" Egon screamed excitedly, practically vibrating in his confines, while color drained from the other men who knew much better.

"Maybe" Lashing out, Tychus let go of Kerrigan's wing blade and kicked her in the side, chasing after her as her body flew. "I" Another kick sending her tumbling in a twisted heap "WILL KILL YOU!" Tychus snarled, the two of them were in the center of the room, green bubbling pools of slime all around made the footing less sure and Tychus had slowed down. That was the end. As he raised his foot to crush her rib cage beneath it, Kerrigan shot to her feet in a flurry, eyes all aflame. A collective "Noo!" of dismay was cried by everyone as Tychus teetered back on one foot and, with a gesture from Kerrigan, launched back and upwards over a spawning pool.

"You have tried and failed, like many before you. But you will pay more dearly than most." Seething, Kerrigan snapped her arms in a violent pulling apart gesture and the remains of Tychus' entire suit all but exploded off of him, shrapnel flying through the room and nicking their unwilling onlookers. Floating above the pool Tychus looked almost serene for a moment, wearing nothing but his prison-assigned ragged orange pants, before gravity returned. Tychus' ragged cry of horror cut off with a sick noise, not quite a splash as the pool was much thicker than water. Turning sharply on her heel to face Raynor and his friends, Kerrigan glowered, looking well and truly like the monster she had become just then. Raynor could only make a choked noise as blood trickled down a shrapnel wound on his cheek, unable to find words.

"Whatever happens to us, Kerrigan, trust that we'll see you in hell when it's all over." Warfield, rigid in his suit and full of fierce pride for Tychus and his last moments, announced gravely. The spawning pool was bubbling fiercely, but there was no sign of Tychus inside. Gesturing at the pool behind her, Kerrigan's voice was still heated with rage. "You'll be there with me. All of you." With a decisive step, she slipped into the fleshy tunnel in the floor and out of sight.

Egon's voice was just a whisper, his spirit crushed. "He didn't deserve that."

"He fought as hard as he could until his last breath, you all saw it with your own two eyes. I'm proud to have fought alongside him." Warfield's attempt at cheering Egon was a true failure, the young man struggled to keep from sobbing and it was obvious.

With a resigned sigh, Horner mumbled "He was a self-serving convict, but no, he did not deserve that. Not by a long shot."

"Yeah, he was an asshole. I wouldn't wish that fate on any asshole, though." Swann mumbled, staring at the bubbling pool in shock.

Directly beneath them and listening to their conversation, Kerrigan was gazing at Tychus through the thick membrane of the spawning pool. The big mans struggle to swim upwards through liquid that would not give way had quickly devolved into the throws of drowning, he had only noticed Kerrigan staring at him through the membrane shortly before going unconscious, but he threw a swing that slid down the membrane wall just before going limp. Impatient to begin, Kerrigan chided herself. Letting the enzymes in the pool fully soak into the body was the first step- the most important even, she would not ruin her work simply because of impatience. As she was the Queen of the Swarm, she had full access to Abathurs thoughts and experiences. She remembered how careful Abathur had to be when he molded her form into what it was now, the same care- perhaps more- had to be given to her current projects. Kerrigan did have the benefit of having been human once to draw off of that Abathur did not, after all.

After the sleep of the exhausted, Jim was looking up at the ceiling watching a vein throb grotesquely through the pulsing flesh of the Leviathan. He knew Horner was at least conscious, and so he questioned curiously. "Matt. What happened to Valerian and the Bucephalus?"

"I believe they escaped, sir. The Bucephalus never fully committed to the battle and remained on the outskirts. When we lost contact with you on the ground I instructed him to escape, as the Bucephalus was the only ship left capable of a clean warp escape. Someone had to warn everyone, we also sent an open signal into space warning of what happened on Char, just in case."

"Good. Good thinking. You always were the brains of the operation, Matt." Raynor smiled halfheartedly.

"Thank you sir. It may have had its ups and downs, but I will never regret serving you and your cause."

"Sir?" Reserved, if not broken sounding, Stetmann leaned on formalities if only for a semblance of sanity.

"Just call me Jim, kid. What?"

"The pools and the eggs in this chamber, well we know what they do obviously. But I think the pools turn into the eggs, in time. There's one at the back of the chamber there, half in a pool that is almost gone."

"Alright, and the point is?" Jim was only half paying attention, doubting Stetmann was really saying anything interesting.

"That means Tychus is in that pool, and it will..." A brief pause to gather saliva for a dry mouth and chapped lips. "It will invert and turn into an egg in time, with Tychus in it. He is being infested, right now." There was a delirious note to his tone, a hopeless panic that couldn't be calmed- and why would Jim try? They were screwed, he'd be the first to admit it.

Sighing heavily, Jim hated being right. "Well, always good to know exactly how you're gonna die, I guess."

"What if she makes him kill us?" Stetmann had worked himself into near hyperventilation at the thought of looking up at Tychus- by all rights already a scary man- but infested, and him following through on all the violence he so loved doing, but to Stetmann instead of Zerg.

"You'd thank whatever god was out there and accept your death with thanks, kid." Warfield cut in. Hell, if Tychus was going to kill them then it was surely a blessing, not having to be infested like he was.

"I-I suppose." Stetmann went quiet once more.

* * *

><p>So, how do you like it? As for where the story is going, here's a summary: All the heroes who fought against Sarah Kerrigan are infested in a similar style as Kerrigan herself was, so they are each unique and have higher mental acuitycontrol of their lessers. They are all kept together and the Hyperion becomes their infested flagship, but without the visual cues normal to infestation.

The story continues loosely along the path of Heart of the Swarm and Kerrigan does become the Primal Queen of Blades, but for different reasons, and loses Amon's taint in the process. There is A LOT more to this, but I don't want to just spoil it all! Suffice to say there is plenty of room for fun with the new infested crew and for the overall Starcraft story to continue as it has been.


	2. Chapter 2

"No! Please no, I'll do anything just please NO!" Nobody knew Kerrigan had been among them while they were sleeping, but Stetmann's cries roused them immediately. Seeing the young man being dragged across the room by his lab coat to a spawning pool, adjacent to the one Tychus fell into, while he cried was chilling.

"Not the kid, don't do it Sarah!" Jim pleaded weakly, feeling a terrible helplessness just like his companions as they watched. Sarah was no more and the Queen of Blades had no remorse for pleading, however. Stetmanns last shrieks were swallowed by the pool.

"Maybe you shouldn't have brought all your friends here, Jim. Maybe you should have listened to my warnings." Snapped Kerrigan, closing the distance between herself and her prisoners on the wall in a few quick steps. Her hair tendrils were raised and bristling with agitation as she grasped the rim of his suit, squeezing it firmly and giving Jim a quick jostling. "You're going to watch every single one of them go into those pools, and then it'll be your turn." Raynor was grimacing, disgusted.

"How'd you ever end up falling in love with that cold bitch, Jim?" Warfield piped up, but his voice was softer and weaker than anyone had recalled hearing it before.

"Warfield, I almost forgot you were here with us." Letting the silent and fuming Jim go, Kerrigan stepped in front of Warfield, observing him with a critical eye. Color had drained from his face and he looked sickly, leaving Kerrigan quirking a brow. "Run in to some trouble, General?"

A bead of sweat trailed a line down Warfields face as he huffed a breath, glaring at her. "Nothing I can't handle."

"How brave." Kerrigan rolled her eyes, something was wrong with him but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, to figure out what the mind was yelling clearly. Concerned, she did not attempt to delve further- Warfield was clearly hurt to some degree and prying at his mind might just break him, she wouldn't give him that quick out.

When she grasped his creep-covered shoulder and he winced, that was the tell she needed. "Ahhh, General. Did you receive a wound in battle? Are you trying to bleed out and skip all the fun?" Teasing, Kerrigan carefully pulled away the creep and the armor of the suit, from his arm and saw the punctures the Hydralisk had made.

"You really are one evil monster." Closing his eyes in defeat, Warfield didn't even attempt to attack her with his injured arm when it was freed.

"That's Queen Bitch of the Universe, to you." The rest of the armored arm of his suit was quickly disassembled so Kerrigan could assess the damage. Hydralisk venom was debilitating and would shut down all of a Terrans bodily functions in time, and Warfield was close to that point. He had _almost_ won. Letting out an angry hiss, Warfield was quickly pried out of the creep and fully divested of his suit which crumbled to the fleshy floor.

"General. It's been an honor." Matt piped up, watching as Warfield was grasped by his ankle and dragged towards another sickly green pool.

"General." Swann grunted, acknowledging the man.

"General." Raynor bit out, understanding the weight a gesture can hold for a proud man like Warfield.

Grunting and gasping in pain, Warfield was partially tossed into the pool but clung to its slippery, fleshy sides with the last of his strength. Looking up at them, he nodded and managed his last words carefully, despite the pool itself burning like acid on his flesh and acrid smoke rising off his clothing. "See you in hell boys."

"Enough!" Kerrigan planted her foot on top of the mans head and shoved him fully into the pool where he sank without further resistance. "I hadn't intended for him to go so soon- but we can't be letting the good General miss out on all the fun, can we?" Kerrigan looked up at the hating eyes of her remaining prisoners, unrepentant.

That was how it would be for the next three days. Each day, they could only guess that it was day, their dwindling group would be awakened when Kerrigan sliced one off the wall and dragged him with varying degrees of resistance, all futile, to be thrown into a pool. The night before it was Swanns turn, they had allowed themselves a respite, recalling old times- the good ones, and sharing entertaining personal stories with one another. It didn't stop Swann from being pulled off the wall the next day, leaving Raynor alone with his personal demons when Swanns yelling stopped and Kerrigan finished gloating.

You don't ever get used to waking up seeing glowing red eyes close to yours, and Jim jumped before remembering his situation.

"There you are Jim. How does it feel?"

"Bit stiff. Your hospitality is lacking."

"Ohh the brave routine, well we saw how well that worked for Warfield." In truth, Jim was torn on the inside. Neither needed to point it out to know it. When Kerrigan pulled away the creep and removed his suit, Jim didn't fight it. Stepping subdued through the mechanical rubble that had gathered on the floor towards his personal pool, they paused in front of it.

"Sarah."

"What, Jim?"

"Just kill them. You've won. I've seen everyone infested personally with my own eyes, and I'll have to live with it after you're done twisting me in to some freak of nature. You don't need them anymore." Jim was haggard looking, his facial hair having grown out from being unable to tend it, and so very tired- if the dark rims under his eyes were any indication.

"No." Smug, Kerrigan leveled a calculating gaze at him.

"Then just shove me into the damn pool and go fuck yourself after- Agh!" Jim had barely finished his sentence before she stepped behind him and shoved with a little more force than necessary.

Left with her thoughts, and the grumbling of the Leviathan's insides continually working, Kerrigan climbed below the chamber and looked over her collection, eyes briefly drawn to Jim's struggle. Every last one of them acted tough, but they all drowned the same. _Minus Stetmann_, she smirked, _coward all the way through_. Today was the day she could begin her work, and so Kerrigan was in good spirits when she stood in front of the pool that housed Tychus. Warfield and Stetmann being on the same day was an unfortunate circumstance, but she'd manage. She could direct the Swarm at her leisure from wherever she was on her Leviathan, it did not matter much. That and there was still a good amount of time until the entire Swarm was mobilized and ready, no rush.

Tychus was suspended in the pool in much the same position he landed in, but his clothing had completely disintegrated in the acidic enzymes. What the nature of the pools did to flesh, however, was different. Kerrigan had practiced manipulating and infecting the flesh of many hundreds of Terrans by now, and still felt a rush of power each time she began her work- it had become her main source of entertainment in her downtime, as a matter of fact. Caressing the fleshy membrane of the pool, she smiled. "I know just what to do with you." Bracing her hands against the living wall, small threads formed and connected from the wall to Tychus' discolored, malleable flesh. In time, Tychus' body was covered in fleshy spokes of varying thicknesses that linked from him to the wall of the pool.

Stetmann was only partially correct about how the pools worked. Yes, the pool itself did disappear as the cocoon and what was inside of it matured, but it was a matter of energy being shifted from one place to another. As the contents of the spawning pool was the very fabric of creation, so too was there a limited amount to work with. Kerrigan had been generous and reserved one of the largest spawning pool chambers just for Jim and his friends, and as such had a lot to work with. By the time she was finished with Tychus, and everyone else, the pools were gone and all that remained where grotesquely throbbing cocoons and the twitching bodies inside them. Their cocoons also did not raise up from the pools, but hung down in the chamber below.

It was a labor of perverse love, and Kerrigan spent days twisting and adjusting their bodies without pause. With a jolt their minds would come back to them as they were transformed, and they screamed in agony. Kerrigan could only smile when, in time, their screams became less foreign and easier to understand- thoughts more Zerg than Terran. It was a mark of progress, every creature came to and was assimilated into the hive mind the same.

"Broodmother Shlassa." Kerrigan was watching the Hyperion as it was carefully righted from its angular stuck position and made to rest flat against the Leviathan, propped up on fleshy pillars. The entire crew had been either killed or infested, those that fought too hard had been put down efficiently. There was more than enough remaining to operate the ship though, that was all that mattered.

"Yes, my Queen?" A nondescript broodmother, visually the same as any other one, strode into view on its many legs, clawed hands clasped in front of it. Shlassa was one of the many broodmothers who had arrived over the next few days, but she was a special one.

"I have a very specific task in mind for you, Shlassa. See this Terran ship?" Kerrigan didn't bother gesturing, if she needed to point out the Hyperion to her then Abathur needed to do some work on the overall intelligence of the broodmothers.

"Whatever you command, my Queen. What about the Terran ship? Do you wish it destroyed?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"You are going to be living there and watching over a special project of mine."

"As my Queen wishes." Infesting a ship was hardly difficult work, but even as Shlassas thoughts considered such things, the Queen of Blades interjected.

"No, Shlassa. Not like that." Shlassa had actually been under Kerrigans scrutiny for some time, she was a weak broodmother. The world she had been tasked with infesting offered no challenges and the broodmother suffered for it, she was passive in comparison to her more savage counterparts. In light of recent _acquisitions_, a new purpose had been devised for the less aggressive creature, instead of destruction. "You will leave your brood behind with me and you will live in the Terran ship, watching and relaying orders from me."

Shlassa rocked back and forth on her legs, confused but obedient. "Your will be done, my Queen."

"Good. Come with me." Together they boarded the Hyperion, lifted aboard via elevator properly instead of breaking in. Alarms were still going off inside, red lights flashing and the Adjutants voice announcing Kerrigans arrival over the intercom. That would just have to be sorted out later. The creep had been pulled back from the ship almost completely, only keeping it in place and ready for take off, and the mostly untouched cold steel around them was agitating Shlassa. Overall Kerrigan was pleased with the condition of the ship, it sustained minimal damage from resistance on the inside and no large explosions had gone off.

When they entered Stetmanns lab, Kerrigan made a grand gesture. "This is your new home, for the time being. You will need to keep hidden as much as possible, Shlassa." The old Adjutant that Raynor's Raiders had dug up had been moved elsewhere and Shlassa gingerly entered the science lab, thick clawed feet clacking on the floor loudly until she took her place in the open space along the wall.

"You fit right in." Sarcasm was lost on the Zerg, but Kerrigan did it more out of habit than anything.

"How long must I stay, my Queen?"

"As long as I wish it, Shlassa. Get comfortable." Kerrigan was already turning on her heel and out the door. Shlassa was left in the dark, eyes reflecting the red flashing lights in the room, all she could do was hiss in displeasure.

_Not much longer now_. Kerrigan was electric with what could be misconstrued for excitement, but most of all she just couldn't wait to see the looks on the face of Jim and his men, it was the culmination of a vengeance that was a long time in the coming. The Mistress of the Swarm was going to savor every moment of their horror and wield her new weapons of destruction with precision. Once stable, their cocoons had been taken from the spawning chamber and relocated aboard the Hyperion to be placed in their respective rooms. A lot of thought had gone in to how Jim and his companions would awaken in their new world.

As the Swarm gathered all around her Leviathan, mobilizing for a grand finale, Kerrigan sat in the center of a quiet room- perched atop a chitinous outcropping. Clawed fingertips were stroking through the spines and hardened flesh of the old Zergling that had taken to following her around, while she pressed a palm to her temple and tapped her nails against the tendrils of her hair in a rhythmic motion. Her eyes, half closed as they were, snapped open when she felt what could only be a _void_ of some sort approaching rapidly. _Familiar._

"Kerrigan."

"_Zeratule._" Zergling sent tumbling away, immediately the two were facing one another, eyes locked and bodies combat ready. The old Dark Protoss had not drawn his psi blade, however. _His mistake._

Aboard the Hyperion, a body jerked to life in its cocoon in a macabre display. The once fleshy, now hardened and dried, spokes of the structure crumbled away from discolored flesh they had been attached to, broken with wild swinging fists.

"What you have done to James Raynor and his men... In time, you may find it to be your biggest regret." Zeratule reeled in disgust as he sensed the twisted souls and bodies of Jim, Matt, all of them.

"I don't feel shame from winning, Zeratule. I won't feel anything from this either." A closed fist, charged with energy, struck true to his chest and sent him flying into the wall with a crash.

Though his heart bled for his friend, Zeratule focused on the matter that brought him into the heart of the pit. "You will not win against Amon such as you are! Not even against Mengsk."

The Dark Templars words were jarring, enough to stop the long bone blade that was about to pierce his skull a hairs width from impact. Frozen, Kerrigan glared and opened her mouth to answer. The distraction was enough for him to grab her face in his fist and impress upon her the psychic vision he needed to share.

As Kerrigan was being forcefully treated to a vision of Zerus, the true home world of the Zerg, the hardened carapace of a cocoon pressed outwards once, twice and a final time before giving way to the all new Tychus and his fists. Erupting from his prison with loud snap and a throaty bellow, he immediately fell to his hands and knees on the cold steel floor, vomiting out chunky green goo and rapidly swiping at his face to get it _away _and _off_! Trembling and heaving in huge breaths of air, once his stomach was clear and his tongue keenly noting the taste of death and decay, Tychus stared down at his hands and arms. They were not his own, couldn't be.  
><em>Just a bad dream, all of it. <em>But his eyes were not lying and the animal callings in his mind, millions of them mercifully dull as though far away, left Tychus coming to grips with a new savage reality.

"Go. Seek the power you desire for vengeance on Zerus, Kerrigan." Shoving Kerrigan away, Zeratule was lost from sight and gone before she recovered, snarling but letting him go all the same. The void of his cloaked presence was already rapidly fading away, tracking him down would be more effort than the pathetic Protoss deserved. Zerus, though. Zerus changed things. Wing blades clacking together sharply, Tychus having emerged from his cocoon returned to the forefront of her thoughts and Kerrigan let out an angry growl, she had missed his emergence and now had greater things to attend to. The Hyperion and her toys would just have to wait now, Shlassa would keep them in line.

Tychus had slowly risen to a stand, staring at his hands as he held them up for inspection. His hands had been like dinner plates before, and great at breaking just about anything. But now? _These are hands for maiming and tearing._ Where thick, stumpy nails used to be there was now short and thick black claws. His flesh was pale and discolored with black speckles that clustered into solid black where his flesh had been hardened and layered like plates. "I'm a god damned _lizard_, Jimmy." He muttered in a dark tone. Stumbling out of his room on bare feet, which had been reinforced similarly to his hands, he stalked through the ship bare ass naked at a fast pace. No one was alive, not any more. He could _feel_ everyone on board, nothing but shells- thought slaves. Even the Zerg were into resocialization.

A few half-eaten bodies, rotting corpses, shambling thought-slaves and blood spattered hallways later, Tychus arrived at the communal showers- a full body mirror was what he was seeking. _Might as well get it over with._ He had not dared to look or feel anywhere past his hands and feet, but he was _different_. The red flashing emergency lights of the ship and sirens blaring through the halls faded away, everything did, when he saw himself.

He was still decidedly _Tychus_ in shape and sound, but that was where all similarities to his old self stopped. His eyes, keeping their warm amber color, had multiple smaller pupils around the natural one now and all reflected the flashing red light in the room much like a cats would. What used to be his military cut hair, well, it wasn't hair any more. With a sensation similar to the hair on the back of his neck raising, Tychus watched as the small spines that covered his scalp, arranged similar to his previous haircut, lifted and shifted around, bristling and flattening on command.

His arms and vitals were covered in flesh that had increased density and was layered to be incredibly strong, but flexible. Turning to look at his side, Tychus held his arm up for closer scrutiny- there was an anomaly at his elbow and along the side of his upper arm, as if there was an indent and something sat inside. Lips pressed tightly into a frown, he jammed the tip of a claw into the edge and pried, eyebrows raising as a thick blade was lifted partially out of his flesh. Squicked out, he let the new accessory drop back into its place and continued the slow inspection of his front in the mirror.

Closing his eyes and giving his head a quick shake, he opened his eyes and looked down farther, panic rushed through Tychus. "Wh-what?! Auuuuughhhh JIMMY!" Tychus distressed bellow promised hell to pay, unfortunately it was ignored by anyone capable of hearing it just then.

Kerrigan paused, perking up and looking towards the Hyperion- though it was not in view at that moment, before smirking and laughing.

* * *

><p>A word on the pacing: this will be going slow for a while. You will be getting introduced to everyone and I want to paint as clear a picture of them as I can. There will be considerable action in time, I like action too much for there not to be!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

When Tychus had calmed down, which could be compared to putting a plug on a live volcano, he started to assess the situation more critically. Sitting at a table in the cantina, he had helped himself to a cigar and a drink on the house. The alarm system was still going off and the Adjutant kept blathering at him about infestation and not allowing him to turn anything off himself. Not that he knew his way around a ship as big as the Hyperion, but he had tried. He had also taken the time to find a pair of gray sweatpants. _N__ot that I need them anymore. _The thought made him almost erupt in fury all over again.

A stench had been burning at his nostrils for some time now, and as he took a long pull of his drink Tychus' saw the corpse of an engineer in a corner, pistol on the ground and innards chewed on. _**Corpses**_. A ferocious hunger hit him then, but it was not his own and he tamped it down with a snarl, looking away from the body and into his drink pointedly. _Well, not like anyone else is around to clean these poor saps up._ Sighing heavily, he took another long pull to finish the watered down beverage off and stood up. _Tastes funny anyway._

Taking drags of his cigar as he worked, Tychus started by grabbing the corpse in the cantina by the ankle and dragging it through the ship to the lift. To his surprise, one of them creepy thought-slaves was there, ready to lower it for him. Revulsion filled him as he watched what had been a woman twitching spasmodically as she hit the button to lower the lift, fleshy tendrils throbbing and writhing all over her body. Tychus chucked the body to the ground below as soon as there was enough clearance, he didn't need to look to know there were Zerglings down there waiting. Over the course of the day he'd throw a good thirty men and woman in varying states of decay and dismemberment, along with a few Zerg, to the ground beneath the ship. He could not help but feel as though something _else_ was directing the infested humans, and had avoided going deeper into the ship on the count of _feeling_ something, something he wasn't willing to confront just yet.

There was a persistent _pressing_ on his mind, Tychus failed to grasp the words to describe it to himself but it was tiring. As though millions of different thoughts and inputs were zipping by just overhead, not close enough for him to understand. What Tychus did understand though were the feelings; There were only a few, but the swarm was truly united when it came to them: aggression, hunger and a kind of joy that could only be associated with the thrill of the hunt, or a kill. Several times he caught himself lifting his rotting gore covered hand, poised to take a taste before he flung it back down to his side with as much force as he could muster, horrified.

When dawn rose over Char, Tychus was sitting in the cantina again, drinking booze that tasted like ash on his tongue and sucking on cigars that gave him no pleasure. His eyes popped open wide when a jarring sensation struck him, the sound of a cocoon being hammered on as though he was directly beside it. Grimly, he stood up and made his way through the ship, drawn like a shark to bloody water. When he came to stand in front of the door he heard the telltale sound of retching and liquid splashing the ground, deciding then to just lean against the wall outside and wait it out. Not like he had somewhere to be.

Tychus waited silently, thinking about his own progression when he stumbled out of the cocoon. _Aught to come out soon, I reckon. _ In a flourish, Stetmann strode out of his room fully clothed. Glasses, canisters of strapped on drinks, egghead outfit, the works. As if nothing was wrong, and as far as Tychus could see in a glance, there really was nothing wrong with Stetmann. No Zerg hair, crazy extra appendages, tentacles, nothing. Maybe a little pale. It was a lot of take in with a quick glance though, and Tychus grunted at Stetmann to get his attention before the kid could walk off like he had somewhere to be. Stetmann froze.

Tychus gave him a minute, but when it was clear the kid was damned paralyzed or something, he straightened up and planted his hand on Stetmanns shoulder, turning him around to face him with a little more force than necessary. No stranger to making people give him looks of terror, the way Stetmanns eyes widened to saucers behind his glasses and his mouth opened just slightly, when at worst he had called the kid names, was disconcerting for Tychus. Fed up, Tychus let go of his shoulder and grumbled "Egghead. Wake up." Snapping his clawed fingertips in front of Stetmanns face repeatedly until his eyes blinked rapidly and he seemed to come out of whatever pant pissing paralysis he had induced upon himself, Tychus was relieved.

"Tuh-tychus!" He squeaked, drawing his hands up to his chest, palms outwards in a placating gesture. "I-I'm sure we can fix this!" Unfortunately for Stetmann, that was very much so the wrong choice of words.

"What?" Tychus growled, the cherry of his cigar burning bright and casting his face into ghoulish relief in the red-flashing and otherwise dark hallway.

"The infestation, the changes, we can fix it! We-"

"We **could** have fixed it, _Stetmann_." Ire rising rapidly by the second, Tychus took one threatening step forwards and Stetmann took one terrorized step back. "We had the tools to fix this. You want to know what happened to them, kid?" Tychus' teeth were grinding audibly when Stetmann whispered a response.

"What happened?"

Not missing a beat, Tychus grabbed Stetmann by the front of his shirt, slammed him bodily into the wall and bellowed so hard veins throbbed on his temples "**An Ultralisk BROKE IT TO _PIECES._**" The volume of his voice rising exponentially as he shook Stetmann in his fists like a dog with a toy. What happened next was beyond the speed a normal eye, maybe even special equipment, could track. A sharp noise, like a gunshot, and an intense light erupted between the two men- and Tychus was flung several feet back and onto the flat of his back.

Stetmann was rooted to the spot, steam was rising off his half cupped and trembling hands. His lab suit, namely the sleeves and chest, had been charred to nothing. Taking a shaky breath, he whispered in Tychus' direction- afraid to rouse him. "Tychus?"

There was a literal smoking crater of burnt flesh where Tychus' solid armored chest was not but a few seconds ago, Stetmann could even see the white of bone. When his chest heaved in a sudden breath, short lived relief flooded Stetmann. Sitting up slowly, Tychus held a hand to his chest and looked down at it, blinking before looking directly at Stetmann, seething as his flesh had begun to re-knit and fill in the hole in his chest.

"Tychus. Please. Calm down, I didn't mean to-" Stetmann had taken his back from the wall and started gingerly stepping backwards, hands raised defensively still.

Kerrigan, who had been giving the directions to Zerus for Iszha to remember, paused with narrowed eyes.

"So." Tychus voice had lowered like distant rolling thunder, and Stetmann had never seen such a murderous look directed at anyone- let alone his own person. "Got yourself some fireworks now, do you?" Teeth bared as he stood up, Tychus raised his arm up and instincts he had not possessed but a few days ago took over. The blade that was imbedded in his upper arm shifted and in one smooth motion lifted and swiveled to face inwards, snapping into place alongside his forearm_. _

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Stetmann launched into his room and was behind the sliding door at speeds only terror can fuel. His fingers stumbled all over his key pad as he heard Tychus running, no, _thundering_ to the door. He initiated the locking code not a second too soon, but when the Adjutants voice spoke up his spirits fell.

"Egon Stetmann. Infestation detected. Access denied."

"No!" He cried, but he hadn't counted on Tychus not giving a shit about whether the door opened or not. When the blade on Tychus arm was shoved through the several inch thick steel, Stetmann jumped away from the door and stood cornered like a rat: positive he was about to experience a visceral death like he had imagined when Tychus was first thrown into that god-forsaken pit. Letting out angry bellows, Tychus slammed his fist into the door repeatedly and stabbed through it as many times, venting violently. When the poor door slid open jerkily, he had unfortunately not been sated. As he stalked into the room, intent on some real violence to Stetmanns person, both men became locked in place.

"_You will not destroy one another. You will heed my will."_ Kerrigans voice, decidedly annoyed, announced to each man. Abruptly released, Tychus and Stetmann remained frozen for a few minutes longer before Tychus slowly lowered his weaponized arm. Stetmann watched with grim fascination, he dare not voice it, as the blade folded back into Tychus arm with a click.

"Well. Your heard her _highness_." Tychus hissed, turning away and pulling another cigar out of his pant pocket. Lighting up and taking a slow drag, he focused. He had lost control, the instincts of millions of aggressive aliens had almost lead him to dismembering the kid. Hot shame filled him, but he wasn't ready to speak of it.

Lowering his hands slowly, Stetmann closed his eyes and almost thanked god before he realized Kerrigan was his savior in that instance, leaving him frowning. Tychus had walked out of the room and Stetmann followed meekly. He had no desire to be left alone in his room with a broken cocoon and vomit on the floor, he had so many questions and Tychus was apparently the only one around. They arrived in the cantina in short order, and Stetmann tentatively sat across from Tychus. He couldn't disguise his surprise when the dour man shoved a beer at him. That was probably the biggest apology he was going to get, and he'd take it as a sign of peace.

Feeling a bit braver now that he understood Kerrigan wasn't going to let them rip each other to pieces, Stetmann took a drink of beer and grimaced. _Taste buds have been changed, no doubt._ "Sorry about reacting like that Tychus. You just- I just-" Tychus was staring at him silently, waiting for him to spit it out. "I literally just crawled out of an _egg_. And you, you have blood and gore on you..." Furrowing his brows, Tychus looked down at himself. Sure enough, he had old blood spattered on his chest and pants, and it looked like he had dipped his hands in gore. Shrugging slightly, he nodded for Stetmann to continue.

"And you look like..."

"A god damned infested monster?"

"W-well.."

Tychus was staring into his drink, Stetmann swore he heard him mutter "Don't even have a dick anymore." dejectedly.

"Er." Tychus glanced at him sharply and he wisely let it be.

When a foot kicked at the rigid material of yet another cocoon, Tychus quirked a brow and Stetmann nearly jumped out of his seat. "What? Oh... Oh we must be... Connected via the hive mind, I suppose." Stetmann stood up, rubbing his arms in a creeped out gesture.

"Didn't think anyone else would come around yet." Tychus slowly stood up, thinking. "Figured Queeny would spread us out more, you woke up almost exactly a day after me."

"Why would she do that?"

"Known a lot of psychos in my lifetime, kid. It is just something they get off on doing."

The banging persisted, thumping in their ears and cracking loudly as the cocoon gave way. Grabbing what remained of the beer pitcher, Tychus poured the contents over his hands one at a time and scrubbed the blood and gore off his hands and chest onto his pants.

"Uh, Tychus? What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go see who woke up, and with any luck they aren't going to spray me with acid or blow a crater in my chest or some shit. _You_, egghead, are going to go and turn off this god damned alarm system. Are we clear?"

"I think I can do that, yeah." Thankful to focus on a decent challenge, Stetmann was ready to go.

About to walk away, Tychus paused for a moment before changing course and grabbing the pistol he recovered from the corpse laying in the room earlier, handing it to Stetmann. By the way he took the weapon, he really didn't need to say he'd be useless even if he had to use it.

"I've never-"

"Shut up, take it and try not to shoot yourself. Go." Waving him off with a meaty fist, Tychus watched Stetmann leave the cantina. For a second he saw something strange at the back of the kids neck. _Not so unchanged after all. _Satisfied for the time being, he walked towards the living quarters, collecting a Gauss rifle and slinging it over his back along the way.

Warfield had kicked and punched his way out of the cocoon as fast as he could, mastering the upset in his stomach as he took in a breath of fresh air. _Need a weapon_. His first thought drew his eyes to his locker. From there he dressed himself, pointedly ignoring his changed flesh and the claws on his hands. Only when he straightened up, rifle in hand and fully clothed- though his old clothes were a damned tight fit, he scrutinized himself.

"What you've done just ain't right, girl." Grumbling as he flexed a fist, watching talons extend and retract, before running a hand over his head in frustration and discovering spines there. Dropping his hand back to his Gauss rifle, Warfield scowled. Straightening up and facing the door, he held his rifle aloft and approached, wary of what waited for him in the Hyperion. When the door slid open and revealed a monster, he pressed his finger to the trigger without a second thought.

Tychus was standing there, smoke drifting upwards from his cigar while his hands rested casually on the butt of his rifle. Multiple pupils constricted to pinpricks and focused on Warfield while he smirked. "Hello, General." Warfield had sworn he pulled the trigger.

"She ain't gonna let us kill each other, Warfield. Trust me, tried already. Now I see why the kid damn near soiled himself when he saw me though." He scrutinized Warfields appearance, seeing the recurring theme of layered plated flesh, discoloration and the freaky alien hair.

Lowering the rifle, painfully aware of a physical force preventing him from firing at Tychus, Warfield looked subdued. "So this is how its going to be then? How come we aren't shambling zombies like the usual? Seen my fair share to know what happens to Terrans when they get infested."

"Don't know. Maybe egghead can figure it out. Got em workin' on turning off the alarms right now."

"Stetmann is out too? Right, he did go in before me. Can't remember what happened so good, fuzzy" Warfield made a swirling gesture beside his temple. "you know?"

"Yeah. Ah know." Tychus grumbled darkly, stepping away from the door and letting the General out of his room. "Egghead might need a hand. Kid looks perfectly normal- you wouldn't believe it. Lets go find him."

"Sounds good. Got questions, figure a sciencey-type might have answers."

"Probably need to go to the lab. Somethin' is down there. Don't know what though." Tychus' hand tapped Warfields rifle down when he took aim at an infested mechanic that had been standing behind a door, a tumorous mass on his deformed fist clenching and unclenching around a wrench. "They are empty. Can't kill em either, don't bother." It was true. Tychus had taken a minute to try and fire a round into a man who had been infested, wanting to put him down out of pity. He had even apologized when he wasn't able to.

"Poor sons o' bitches." Repulsed, Warfield looked away and kept pace with Tychus as they made their way.

Warfields mind was a mess. Like someone poured a bowl of bugs into his brain pan and just mixed it all up. Glancing at Tychus occasionally, he figured the other man was feeling much the same.

The Adjutant was proving to be very good at keeping Zerg from messing with it. Normally that would be pleasing, but now not so much. Stetmann had tried every override combination, every code, keyword and unobtrusive means of turning off the alarm and disabling the infestation alerts he could think of. Each attempt had been rebuffed, again and again. As it was, he was attempting to unscrew the rusted tight bolts on an old electrical box and failing. Huffing and twisting with all his might, Stetmann was pressing his entire body weight on the bolt and it remained unmoving. "Thought Swann took better care of this stuff." Wiping sweat off his brow, he popped one of the few energy drinks he hadn't accidentally incinerated off of his belt and drank generously.

The two men walking together made plenty of noise, Stetmann was able to mentally prepare himself to accept what he saw without outward reaction. When Warfield called out "There he is. Stetmann! Good to see you son." he managed to look up from the stuck tight bolts and smile, pretending everything was normal.

"General Warfield, glad to see you alive sir. Sorry I haven't gotten the alarm off yet, the Adjutant has been giving me trouble and well" He gestured lamely to the rusted panel "so is this."

Clapping a broad hand on Stetmanns shoulder, he moved the younger man aside and took a look while taking the wrench from him. "No sweat. Used to be real handy in my youth, you know. Anything to shut this damned alarm off anyway." Tychus just rolled his eyes and kept an eye out silently while Warfield undid the bolts with some ungodly screeching on their part.

"Stuck damned good too, probably would've just needed a laser cutter in other circumstances."

"You mean the circumstances where we aren't roid raging aliens?" Snapped Tychus.

"You could say that. All yours son, we'll keep a look out." Having pulled the panel off and revealed the old wiring beneath, Warfield stepped back and gestured for Stetmann to continue.

"Yes sir! Normally I am into the less _physical_ side of computers, but this is simple enough that I can manage. We _will_ need Swann if we want to do anything more complicated, so here's hoping he will be intact." Pulling smaller drivers from the toolbox he had gathered, Stetmann loosened screws and switched wires around. Tychus watched for a minute, trying to keep track of the kids rapid changes to the panel before giving up. Some things he just didn't care to learn.

"We should probably figure out where everyone's damned egg things are and get some shit set up for them." Warfield thought out loud as he looked down his side of the hall. "Least let them know the ship isn't full of bugs. I didn't have any idea what to expect."

"Already cleaned out all the bodies by myself, someone else can make the damn care packages for all I care." Tychus grumbled, vexed the more and more he thought about their situation. When the alarm and flashing lights were disabled and emergency power booted up, they let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Muuuuch better." Stetmann whirled a screwdriver around his fingers and dunked it into its container, grinning slyly to himself. "I'm good." When he noticed the other two men staring at him, he wavered. "Err. Sorry."

"So this is hell." Warfield muttered, to which Tychus snorted. "I'll meet you boys on the bridge, we got some planning to do."

"Yes sir!"

"Riiight." Lighting a new cigar, Tychus stalked off leaving Warfield and Stetmann to make their way together.

"I need to go see the lab soon. Hopefully it's still in tact, I need to run tests and-"

"Tychus said there was somethin' down there. We'll check it out together later, Stetmann. I'm inclined to agree with him. I... _Feel_ something. It ain't right."

"Alright sir." Stetmann rung his hands anxiously as they entered the bridge, Tychus already waiting and staring out at their surroundings- the Leviathan was all around them still.

"Ain't that some shit?" Tychus had seen it already of course, but he checked their reactions.

"Hell, we're _on_ the Leviathan? Just great." Warfield sighed, about to run a hand through his hair before catching himself.

"Yes, I saw it when we first left the ship.. Just amazing that its an animal of some kind, isn't it?"

"Bein' a bug is gonna suit you at this rate, egghead."

"Speakin' of bugs. Why is the creep not getting into the ship? Why isn't the ship just full of Zerg roamin' around? It's us, the infested and whatever the _hell_ that thing we feel is."

"I only have guesses sir, no real answers. But the Zerg are efficient, continually evolving at rapid rates to be even better and better at what they do. They are tools. Now we are Zerg: we have a purpose, I just don't know what it is." Stetmann had sat down on a chair, palming where his pen and paper would be had they not been incinerated earlier.

"A sleeper cell?" Tychus volunteered, drawing the surprised eye of both his companions.

Warfield thought about it for a moment, brows furrowing. "Could be, good thinking. Doesn't bode well for the rest of the Terrans though."

"No." Tychus glared at the floor. "It doesn't."

"I don't think so. I mean, this entire ship and everyone on it would immediately fail any scans or basic checks. The whole place would have to- oh." Stetmanns face fell as the other two men scrutinized him.

"I read your file." Warfield grumbled, puzzle pieces clicking together. "Isn't that basically what your field of expertise _was_, before you went on the run from the Dominion?"

On her Leviathan, Kerrigan was smiling slyly into the stars.

* * *

><p>I know Warfield and especially Stetmann are pretty nondescript, but next chapter gets to the nuts and bolts of their mutations especially.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"My partner and I created a portable force field of sorts, similar to what Protoss have with plasma shields, but they used it for unwilling human experimentation and yes- that is when I left the Dominion." Egon frowned, remembering the whole ordeal as though it was yesterday. "I guess the _shield_ part could be used for cloaking, concealment or manipulation." He looked sick.

"Relax kid, no tellin' what the Queen of Blades wants with us. No use workin' ourselves up over nothing until she comes out and tells us." Warfield made a dismissive gesture, but they all knew damn well it was more to make Egon feel better than anything. Jim and Tychus were damn near famous for the heists they used to pull, getting into places they were not meant to be fit _too_ good.

Tychus placed a standard transmission device on the corner of the central table with a _thunk_.

"Found a few stored in here, we can leave messages for everyone once they wake up. Reckon it'd be best if egghead does it, most normal lookin' out of the three of us." Stetmann grabbed the device and stuck it in one of his lab coat pockets distractedly.

"Alright, I'll do that. Seems like Kerrigan put us all in our own living quarters, should be pretty easy to find everyone."

"Right, good. Only one thing left." Warfield looked at Tychus, somber.

On point, Tychus patted his Gauss rifle and nodded. "We go pay that _thing_ a visit."

"Oh! Oh, sir."

"What, son?"

"If you have to blow something to pieces, please save me some samples!"

"Kid, you _are_ a sample." Shaking his head, Tychus walked out.

"Will do." Warfield eyed Tychus' back as he followed him.

When the bridge door slid shut, Stetmann looked at his hands thoughtfully. "I guess I am."

"Why are you so hard on that kid, Tychus?" Warfield asked, genuinely curious.

"Kids fighting a damn revolution and he can't even hold a pistol, nothin' but a liability far as I'm concerned." They were working their way into the bowels of the ship towards Stetmanns lab, securing rooms along the way- wouldn't due to get ambushed. It was cathartic to just go through a routine that both of them knew by heart, as simple as breathing.

"He's got quite a record, done some amazing things for his age. I wouldn't write him off, even if he could stand to use some combat training. Just a thought."

"Maybe I _will_ teach him. Run 'em through the ol' Tychus training program."

"So long as I get to watch and laugh." Both men chuckled.

It seemed that the amount of infested crew members had become much denser the closer they got to the lab. Both men had taken to treating them like furniture, seeing as they couldn't do anything to them.

"Awful lot of them infested down here."

"Wish I could help 'em."

"Wish I could help my damn self."

"Amen to that."

Their banter fell off as they rounded a corner, stepping around infested that were mulling around, and faced the entrance of the lab. Their eyes were drawn to the base of the door, invoking a frown from both men.

"See it?"

"Yeah. That living wall stuff, creep or whatever the kids are callin' it these days." Guns raised and on alert, they approached slowly- listening for anything strange between their footsteps. They heard nothing beyond their strides across the grated steel and their own breathing mixed with the gasps and gurgles of the infested.

"Ladies first." Tychus mumbled, catching a look from Warfield. Being the professional he was however, Warfield stepped forwards and hit the pad to open the door quickly, both men raising their rifles and aiming into the dim room.

Whatever they had been expecting, the looming figure of a broodmother standing in the back of the lab was decidedly not it.

"Ah hell." Tychus intoned before taking a quick step past Warfield and slamming the door button to close it promptly in the broodmothers face. Lowering their weapons the two men glared at each other.

"Now what?"

"Do I look like some kind of Zerg expert, Findlay? How the hell should I know?"

_What do you want, Terrans?_ In their minds the broodmother spoke. A feminine voice but, echoing and hissing, it was not a pleasant one. This particular one sounded rather mad.

"Yeah, no. Egghead can do his science experiments somewhere else, I don't give a damn anymore." Tychus had raised one of his hands to the side of his head, as if he could just grab the broodmother out of it.

Warfield gave him a long-suffering sigh. "There's a reason it's here, Findlay. We're gonna find out." Pressing the door button again, Warfield stepped inside and Tychus reluctantly followed.

_Speak. _The creatures tail spikes were clicking together in annoyance.

Giving a shrug to himself, Warfield piped up. "Why are you here, bug?"

_I am not a bug. I am broodmother Shlassa, you are my charges._ There was an unmistakable bitterness in the psychic words.

"Charges? So you're Kerrigans watchdog?"

_I do not know what a watchdog is. I am here to watch over you and relay messages from our Queen._

"Whoa now. She ain't my damn Queen, and I sure as hell don't take orders from bugs!"

Shlassa's eyes glowed an angry green, and Tychus stumbled back as though physically shoved. _Begone Terran. I don't have to explain myself to you._

Tychus gripped his Gauss rifle and tried to force himself to point it at Shlassa, but felt that frustrating immovable force blocking him. Warfield was keeping his voice even and attempting to be the voice of reason, as he often was. "Alright. Broodmother Shlassa, you said?"

_Yes._

"This is Stetmanns lab, and he's gonna be using it. We will also be in here often. You may want to move somewhere else if you got a problem with us."

Hissing, Shlassa shifted on her feet and to their revulsion they saw that the creature was the source of the creep in the room, the stuff literally dripped off of its body. Tychus made a retching noise before he caught himself. _I know the scientist. I will be staying here. You will be tolerated if you do not bother me._

"That's that then. We will be back later." The broodmother inclined her head in response, glaring at them right up until the door closed.

"Being babysat by some alien mother bug don't sit right with me, not one bit." Tychus was growling, bumping past the infested and all but running them over if they were in the way.

"As if I like it. Listen, the Zerg aren't gonna attack us, we _are_ the Zerg now. You know damn well the best thing we can do is learn about our enemy until an opportunity presents itself." All Warfield received was a grunt in response. Frustrated, he snapped. "Look Tychus, I'll see you in the mess hall. You see that nerd you tell him to get there too."

"Right."

_General Warfield?_

Warfield jumped, nearly dropping the package of rations he had picked out. Looking around sharply, he deduced that Stetmanns voice was indeed in his head. Resting his hands on the counter top, Warfield closed his eyes and mumbled. "Give me strength." Jerking his shoulder in a shrug, he thought about the kid and gave it a shot. _Stetmann. What's so damned important you gotta barge into my head with alien nonsense?_

No reply.

"Eh." Warfield wasn't too disconcerted about it not working, maybe even a bit thankful. It was clear Stetmann wanted his attention though, so he tossed the ration packet on to the table and went to find him.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Tychus had heard Stetmann too. Slamming a fist into the cantina table, he struggled to cool his temper.

A few things became quickly apparent to Warfield when he entered the bridge, where Stetmann had remained. Both his lab coat and glasses were off and he was scrutinizing one hand intensely while writing notes with the other. But what really caught the old Generals attention was Stetmanns eyes. "Son, what the hell is so important you gotta go barging into my head and not finding me like a normal person?" As he spoke, Warfield approached to get a better look- trying to figure out what his own eyes were seeing.

Stetmann looked up from his hand quickly and blinked. It looked as though, for lack of better words, his eyes had peeled away to reveal, well, other eyes. His normal human eye had folded over a rainbow-colored kaleidoscope looking eye, while his right was a solid dark red with multiple facets. "I am sorry, General. That was just a test. I tried it thinking that maybe I was capable, but you didn't respond so I thought I was not."

"Alright. So what the hell is going on with your eyes and what do you want?"

"Ah, yes it must look a bit strange. I found out that I have multiple layers of vision, its incredible! But what I called you for was this: it's time we find out what has really changed about us, and run some tests down in the lab and maybe the athletic field."

Looking into the kids eyes was disturbing, and Warfield fixed his gaze on a point past Egons head. "Right. You are right, it is need to know information. I'll go get Tychus and we'll meet you down in the lab. Oh. There's a broodmother down there, by the way."

"Yeah, I heard it talking to you and Tychus. Maybe there isn't a "filter" or we're connected to the broodmother somehow, I'll have to ask it!" Warfield frowned slightly, scrutinizing Stetmann. Maybe Tychus wasn't so far off from accusing the kid of suiting the bug life.

"Just.. Be careful, alright son?" Warfield had turned and walked out before Stetmann, confused by the statement, could ask just what he needed to be careful about.

It was an easy guess on where to find Tychus, Warfield was a little surprised to see the big man holding his face in his hands though. Unsure if he was interrupting a personal moment or a mental breakdown, he stepped in and spoke cautiously to his back. "Tychus? Stetmann needs us in the lab to run some tests. Might be some stuff to do in the athletic room too."

"Can't you feel it old man?" Tychus grumbled, his voice strained. "The bugs don't talk, but they _feel_. I almost killed the kid the other day, don't want to tell you what_ else_ I've almost done either." He had slowly turned on his stool, eyeing Warfield and hoping that he understood.

"Tychus, my head has been buzzing since I kicked my way out of that damned cocoon. I've felt weird compulsions too, but I'll be damned if Kerrigan is gonna break my mind. So hold it together and get your ass to the lab. _Maybe_ Stetmann can help, I don't know."

"Hm." Standing up, it seemed Tychus was satisfied with the answer for now. The two men went to the lab without further preamble and found the way was completely clear of the infested. The broodmother however, was still in the lab and glared at them when the door opened. Stetmann was already there and ignoring it resolutely, to his credit.

"Right. We're here, lets get this thing done with kid." Tychus rumbled, shouldering off his rifle and resting it beside the door.

"Yeah. What do you have for us, Stetmann?" Warfield followed suit, leaving his rifle on the opposite side.

"Thanks for coming! I've prepared some basic tests- the Adjutant not interacting with Zerg means that I can't do anything with tools that are connected to the ships database. Not until Swann can fix that, anyway." Stetmann launched into full-on scientist mode, it was rather interesting to see how hard he focused on his tasks. "I'll check you head to toe and we'll figure out what's different." Both men allowed themselves to be herded around the room as Stetmann spoke.

"I have some some scrapers for tissue and clippers for keratin. The design of our skin is very interesting, most Zerg just have tough chitinous exoskeletons. Sit there please, thanks." Tychus and Warfield sat down as instructed. Frowning, Tychus suspected the _clippers_ the egghead was about to use were actually for cutting through bones.

The continued, albeit silent, scrutiny of the broodmother across from them was disconcerting, but if Stetmann could pretend like it was normal so could Warfield and Tychus. When Stetmann gestured for Tychus to hold a hand on the table palm-down, he followed suit and watched as the kid tried to clip a piece off the thick claw of his index finger, quirking a brow. He was not succeeding, the tendons in his wrists visibly straining as he tried to put on enough pressure to clip.

"You're gonna break my damn nail, let me." Waving Stetmann off, Tychus liberated the clippers and promptly cut out a small V shape, which the red faced Stetmann gathered. Warfield grabbed the clippers next and mimicked the action, sparing him the time.

"Thanks. It is kind of surprising that I did not inherit some considerable physical strength too." He sounded almost disappointed, leaving Tychus and Warfield smirking slightly.

"Gotta work for these kinda muscles, kid."

Gathering the clippings into test tubes and holding them aloft, Stetmann nodded thoughtfully after taking a hard look at each.

"Sweet mother mercy. The hell is goin' on with your eyes kid?" Tychus had not yet seen Stetmanns newly found attribute and was suitably distressed when the kids eyes folded away into different layers of other freaky eyes.

"Yes, well, I did develop _some_ new attributes. There's something coating your nail by the way, General."

"Just great."

Unbeknownst to the group, the gathered swarm had begun to turn away from Char, speeding out into the stars towards their new destination: Zerus. Following discreetly, nearly touching with the Hyperion, was also Zeratuls small ship.

"I'm not going to just let you cut on my damn skin!" Stetmann had tried to convince the two men to let him take some tissue samples, but they were both surly and stubborn.

"That can wait until you have access to your better equipment, Stetmann." Warfield had shut the argument down quickly.

"Yes General. Can I see your arm?" Stetmann had caught sight of something and almost didn't wait for Warfield's go ahead before holding up his armored arm under closer scrutiny.

"That's just creepy as all hell." Tychus was still disturbed by the kids eyes.

"You know you have multiple pupils in your eyes and a tapetum lucidum, a layer in the eye humans don't even have, right?"

"_And_?"

"Nothing." Stetmann mumbled, ignoring him and tilting Warfield's arm this way and that after rolling back his sleeve. "Veeeery interesting! General, you have these really small holes in your skin and there is some kind of debris around them- I'll need my equipment for it but I think you excrete something from both your nails _and_ these little holes."

"I'm not sure I want to know." Exasperated, Warfield was watching what Stetmann was doing and frowning.

"It's for the best, General."

_Yes. She wants you to know exactly what you can do. _All eyes turned to look at the broodmother, Shlassa, when she spoke.

"Stay out of my head, bug." Tychus grated, fists clenched.

_Or else? Your body is not your own, Terran. You'll do well to remember that._

"Let it be, Tychus." Warfield warned.

"When my body _is_ my own again, you're first on the list."

_I care not about your lists. Your body never will be your own, foolish Terran._

"I think that's enough of the lab for a bit." Stetmann interjected quickly, more fearful of his lab being smashed than their altercation, seeing as they couldn't physically hurt each other. "Lets go to the athletic field." He placed his collected samples next to the writhing Zerg specimen container quickly and picked up his clipboard and pen.

Both men stood up and retrieved their guns in unison, flanking Stetmann as they exited the lab quickly. "Good thinking, son." Warfield muttered.

"Where'd the infested go, by the way?" Tychus looked sharply at Stetmann, questioning.

"I asked Shlassa to err, put them somewhere else. They freak me out."

"How you can just have a conversation with that bug, I've no idea."

_Easier than having a conversation with you._ Stetmann thought to himself, annoyed.

"What?" Tychus looked confused, a backbone was the last thing he expected coming out of Stetmann.

"What?" Stetmann parroted, having not thought about what he did.

"The hell are you two on about? Bust a move!" Warfield realized what had happened though, he couldn't blame the kid for the thought, not by a long shot. Wasn't his fault that the privacy of his mind wasn't quite so private anymore either.

Tychus let it slide, thinking he may have been hearing things if Warfield hadn't reacted to what the kid said.

"Um, gentlemen?"

"What, kid?"

"Where's the athletic field?"

"This is why your waist is as thick as my wrist, just so you know."

"Gonna have to agree with Tychus on this one."

The so-called athletic field had been repurposed from an extravagant opera house that Mengsk had installed on the Hyperion when it had been his flagship. As such it had a high vaulted ceiling, a few one to two person balconies on either side of the walls and decidedly poor lighting as relics of that time. Fake turf had been installed on the floor, a small obstacle course and a more impressive gym set had their own quarters of the field. As the primary source of entertainment and exercise for everyone on the ship, it was all well loved.

Standing at the edge of the turf, each man had his own little reaction and ritual. Egon stood on the grass stiffly, looking generally uncomfortable and out of his element. Warfield strode onto it like he owned it, quietly reminiscing to himself of old days and games played on real grass. Tychus, still in bare feet seeing as no boots would stand against the thick claws on his toes, seemed physically relieved when he let his feet sink into the green mass.

"You know I haven't set my feet on dirt, never mind grass, in well over seven years." And it was the truth, he had been stuck in that damn death trap suit when he got off ice. He decided this was a small thing that he didn't even know he missed.

"I'd comment about your conduct before imprisonment, but hell with it." Warfield and Tychus walked out into the field, Tychus stretching and enjoying himself, it was a good distraction.

"Last time I was on a field, I was knocked out by a football." Stetmann mumbled inaudibly before piping up. "I can't bring up your files, but we're just going to do some simple tests and I'll write the information down for later." Tychus and Warfield spread out, giving one another space while Stetmann stood in front and scribbled on his clipboard quickly. "Firstly: Jumping with pure leg power." Gesturing for the men to start, Stetmann watched as they each bent at the knee and launched themselves upwards. Scribbling while they repeatedly jumped and nodding to himself, he spoke out loud for their benefit. "You're jumping like olympians! I don't know what you could do before this mind you, but men of your build do not normally jump like that." He gestured for them to stop.

"You stereotypin' me, egghead?" Tychus sniped as they followed the younger man to the gym equipment.

"If anyone is a stereotype, it's you Tychus." Warfield smirked, making Tychus smile easily.

"Alright." Stetmann planted a hand on a rack of very large weights, some of which probably individually weighed more than he did. "Load up, stress test!"

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" With a practiced ease, the two big men found bars for themselves and began putting on weights.

"Start with your old best weight, if you remember it." Stetmann observed and noted their starts, noticing an opportunity and taking it. With complete nonchalance, he commented. "I'm surprised, Tychus. The Generals best is higher than yours."

"There's a reason why I'm the General." Warfield went along with it, if only because he knew Tychus could use the distraction. He secretly admitted to himself that he loved the competition too.

"Oh yeah?" Tychus snipped, falling for the bait- and gladly. "Won't be when we're done here."

The bars gave out before they did.

Leaving the bent bars behind, Stetmann guided them out to the field once again. "Well that was informative. Go to the very back of the field and run to me when I wave." _As fast as you can_ need not be said, the two men were damn near bonding and only paying half attention to poor Egon. When they were in position, half crouched and ready to propel themselves forwards, Stetmann checked his watch and waved for the first man to run at the start of the minute. Warfield launched into a run at a frightening pace. Stetmann had to fight the urge to recoil away when the General got close, checking the time on his watch and scribbling it down quickly.

Warfield stood aside as Egon counted the seconds, waiting for the top of the minute once more before waving at Tychus. Chunks of the fake turf flew as his thick toe claws dug in and ripped it up while he sprinted at Stetmann full tilt. Clenching his teeth and half closing his eyes, Stetmann forced himself to hold still, eyeing the time and quickly writing it down when Tychus ran by so close as to have nearly bowled him over. "Well that was terrifying, thank you. No men your size have a right to run that fast, if you ask me." For a second he wasn't sure what he read on his watch, doing a quick double-take. "Hm."

"So, how are you feeling? Fatigue? Anything?" Circling the two men, Stetmann observed their states. Neither had broken a sweat and were breathing evenly. He took Tichus' wrist and attempted to measure his heart rate, but that was futile with the fleshy armor.

"Honestly? I haven't been tired since I broke outta that egg thing. Don't feel strained any from all that lifting either."

"Same, seems we'll have to work a lot harder if we're gonna find the limit." Warfield remarked thoughtfully.

"Alright, now for the news."

"News? You've been with us the whole time, what have you seen that we haven't?" Tychus scrutinized him, frowning.

"The time!" Tapping his wristwatch for good measure, he tucked his clipboard under his arm. "You said it was almost an exact twenty-four hours that I was awakened after you, Tychus. It has been about twenty since Warfield woke and I suspect something happened that made Kerrigan put him in sooner than she wanted. The next person may be coming very soon!" All three of them looked grim, it was a reminder of their current reality.

"You got all those transmitters set up in everyone's rooms? I don't recall you having left the bridge." Warfield questioned, crossing his arms.

"Oh! No! I'll do it right now, the testing can wait- especially if its Swann!" Egon all but ran away, leaving the two men alone. Warfield hadn't watched him leave, but was looking at the gym setup offhandedly. Grinding teeth drew his attention and he was surprised to see Tychus with fists clenched and veins bulging at his temples as if completely furious.

"Tychus?" Narrowing his eyes, he faced the man cautiously, attempting to discern what had happened in those few seconds that could have done this to him. His words seemed to have an effect, though. Tychus jerked and blinked rapidly, looking at Warfield completely spooked.

"Gonna have to make sure people don't run around... Took everything I had to not chase that kid down, don't know what it is."

"Huh. You should really tell him. If anyone can figure out the issue, it's the kid. Nothing happened when we were sprinting and I was ahead of you though?" Tychus shook his head definitively. "No." Frustrated, he went to run his hand through his hair and made a disgruntled noise when his thick fingers touched the spines where his hair used to be. Fully committed to the motion, he gave a mental _fuck it_ and finished swiping his hand through anyway.

"Don't think I'll be getting used to those any time soon either." Warfield sympathized.


	5. Chapter 5

"I believe I've figured it out, Izsha." Kerrigan was staring into the stars, beyond the millions of Zerg collected around her Leviathan and the other Leviathans in its company.

"My Queen?" Iszha tilted her head, curious of what her Queen could be speaking about.

"When the Overmind created me, why do you think I didn't turn out like the other Terrans it infested? I was not special."

"You are powerful, my Queen. So strong."

"Not at the start." Kerrigan held a clawed finger aloft, her eyes focused on a star out in space as she thought. Izsha was some of the only conversation the Zerg Queen could get, and these kinds of conversations were not abnormal. "I was weak, my mind was soft from the changes, I even needed to raid a Ghost training facility to undo what had been done to my mind by my fellow _Terrans_."

"How did you become strong?"

"Time. Gradual integration into the Swarm. There was the Overmind who controlled the cerebrates, and the cerebrates controlled their broods. I was given a small brood and had little control." Curling her hand into a fist and resting it at her side, Kerrigan grinned in remembrance. "But Zeratul began killing the cerebrates, and more of the swarm fell under my sway. I evolved to be able to handle more. That was the key, Izsha."

"Terrans require time to become accustomed to the mind of the swarm?"

"Yes. It requires a stronger mind than an average person, perhaps. But it _is_ working on Jims little friends."

"You are truly the strongest leader the swarm could hope to have, my Queen." Kerrigan smirked, pleased with herself. On the Hyperion, Matt was wakening from his long nightmare.

Every man awake on the Hyperion heard Matts yell as he jerked into consciousness, and they all reacted differently. Egon resolutely ignored it as the door to his darkened lab opened in front of him, the glowing eyes of Shlassa regarded him silently. This was an opportunity to speak with the broodmother without being hassled by the other men, it would not be lost.

"You have questions. I am to answer them." Egon was immediately surprised by the verbal approach the broodmother took. "I am unable to communicate with only you, and so we shall speak." In truth, it was an anomaly that Shlassa did not like. The Terrans really were weak. Stetmann wasn't sure where to begin.

Tychus was still on the athletic field, unbending the steel weightlifting bars they had inadvertently ruined. Pausing and frowning down at the metal in his hands while his hair spines straightened stiffly, Tychus put the mostly fixed bar on the rack and set off towards the armory- still on lockdown by the Adjutant. He'd find the limit, someone else could deal with Horner.

Warfield was in the bridge cleaning his Gauss rifle attentively, difficult even if he had been working to develop better control over his retractable talons. Pausing and looking at the wall, he listened to the snapping of dried material and the ragged gasps for air of Matt Horner. As if he was looking at him, he inclined his head and muttered. "Welcome to hell." He continued working on his weapon, whoever it was could wait a few minutes for him to get it all back together proper.

When he had finished breaking free of his prison and heaving the foul substance that had filled his stomach onto the floor with sick splashes, Matt sucked in air and looked around. Wiping the nasty filth from his mouth and, spotting the transmitter device, stumbling to it quickly. When Stetmann appeared he felt a measure of relief, the man looked unchanged somehow. A pair of his clothes was thoughtfully folded on his bed next to the stand and he dressed himself out of habit while listening.

"Hello Matt! Um, so you're a Zerg now- and so are we. We decided to make recordings for everyone who hadn't woke up yet, just to let you know what's going on, you know?" Egon's recording stumbled along awkwardly as Matt touched his fingertips to what felt like _bone_ raised out of his back slightly, horrified.

"Others may have wakened since I recorded this for you, but as of right now it is General Warfield, Tychus Findlay and myself. Kerrigan has not shown herself or spoken to us, aside from one brief thing." The image of Stetmann looked uncomfortable at the thought. "But she has not made us do anything yet, and there is a broodmother in the laboratory named Shlassa. She is here to watch us. If Swann hasn't woke up yet then the Adjutant is still blocking us from the armory and most of the ships functions."

In the process of putting on his gloves, Horner paused at a queer feeling on his palm and _in_ his arm, slowly turning his hand palm-up.

"I don't know what changed about you, seems we're all pretty different right now, but try not to panic when you see anyone else. They haven't made out quite so good in the visual department..."

Sucking in a breath, Horner dropped his glove and held his hand farther away in revulsion. From the center of his palm a cluster of fleshy tendrils was writhing, stretching outwards as though seeking something. Closing his eyes tightly he whispered rapidly to himself, completely blocking out whatever else the Stetmann message was saying. "Not happening not happening _not happening._"

Warfield took aim with his rifle, checking the sight with a practiced eye. Letting out a satisfied grunt, he slung the weapon strap over his shoulder and made his way towards the living quarters. Whoever it was should have been finished listening to Stetmanns message by now, at the very least.

"Alright. First question. Why are you watching us? Doesn't Kerrigan know what we're doing at all times?" Back in Stetmanns lab, he had sat down on a stool, pen and clipboard in hand, ready to get answers from Shlassa.

"My brood has been given to another and the Queen has entrusted me with keeping you and the other Terrans safe.

"So, we're your brood?"

"I did not make you, but yes."

"So broodmothers take care of pieces of the swarm and Kerrigan directs the broodmothers? I suppose that is efficient."

"Yes."

"Do you know what our purpose is? What Kerrigan wants us to do?"

"I am not to speak of it. You will know in due time."

Scribbling notes rapidly, Stetmann thought hard- asking the _right_ questions was often the biggest challenge of research. "Are we capable of talking to one another in our minds?"

Shlassa paused, chitinous fingertips clicking together. "Yes. Terrans do not speak with their minds, you must practice. Perhaps if you can talk specifically to one another in time, I will be able to do the same."

"So it's like a muscle that we haven't used, we need to work it." Muttering, he jotted quickly and looked back up at the creature. "I know there is a kind of hierarchy in the swarm. Kerrigan is at the top, broodmothers are next, are there any other strong Zerg that control lesser Zerg?"

"You and the others. They are capable of controlling other Zerg, should they prove strong enough." Shlassa sounded very much doubtful. "Zerg lead by force of will and strength. We follow the strongest."

Blinking in surprise, Egon tilted his head. "Wait, you follow the strongest? Willingly?"

"Yes. We broodmothers are capable of choosing."

"Amazing! Why do you follow Kerrigan?"

"She is the strongest." The tone of Shlassas voice shifted, as though she thought he was rather dense.

"So if I was to prove I was stronger, you'd follow me?"

"Our Queen defeated you and remade you. You've already proven yourselves weak."

"Oh. Well, uh, thanks. I think that's good enough for now." Egon placed his notes down on a counter top and mumbled thoughtfully "Should go see who woke up."

"You know who did." Shlassa implied impatiently. "_Flex your muscle_."

Cringing, Egon glanced at the broodmother and nodded slightly. "I guess." Taking a breath, Stetmann walked out of the lab and concentrated. He'd try to find out who it was and where they went through the link, to flex the mental muscle.

Horner had managed to retract the whatever-the-hell-it-was that had been sticking out of his hand after a round of denial, panic and fury. Forgoing his gloves, he cautiously stepped out into the emergency-lit halls of the Hyperion and started looking for the others, all while in a mental haze.

"Don't turn around, Horner." General Warfield called out a generous distance away, and Horner stood still.

"General Warfield, sir..?"

"Just wanted to let you know I'm here. Don't need you yelling or trying to shoot me cause I look like a damn bug, son. Feels bad enough as it is." Warfields words were bitter.

"Ah. I understand, trust me." Shivering in revulsion, he was keenly aware of the writhing inside his arms when he slowly turned around and took a look at the General. "Oh, hell."

Raising a finger to point at him in warning, Warfield tilted his head and gave him an I-told-you-don't look. Raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, Matt cleared his throat. "Alright. I'm good. You're good. We're good."

"We aren't son. Not by a long shot. But we'll figure somethin' out, alright?"

"Right. How recent was that message Stetmann left?"

"Few hours maybe, nobody else awake yet if that's what you're asking."

"Alright." Warfield had started walking and Horner fell in step with him, it was not so bad- _the most shocking part is the hair and claws,_ he thought.

"Not much we can do right now, with the Adjutant keeping us out of damn near everything. Probably for the best, don't want to know why Kerrigan wants the Hyperion in tact. Can't be good for anyone."

"No, definitely not." His stomach soured thinking about Kerrigan, about the battle and the whole damn mess Jim led them into. "What happened to the crew?" Warfield's silence spoke volumes on the subject, and he felt further sick. "We took all these people to their deaths." Still, Warfield refrained from answering. It seemed prudent to not tell Horner what had really happened to them, for now at least.

The pair almost bumped right into Stetmann when he whisked through a door. "Oh! Hello General, hello Matt-sir!" They stood there looking at one another, Stetmann curious about what had changed about Horner, and Horner trying to politely spot any freaky alien mutations on Stetmann. "Seems you made out a lot better than Tychus and the General, visually anyway."

"_Thanks_ kid."

"Sorry sir." Warfield waved him off and set the three of them to walking together slowly, no destination in mind.

"Ah, yeah about that- well, we can check it out later. Where's the convict?" There was venom in his tone when he mentioned Tychus. Warfield supposed they had been exchanging heated words not long before the shit hit the proverbial fan.

"Listen boys, now's as good a time to get it out as any." Warfield glanced around quickly, making sure Tychus was not in earshot. "Tychus ain't handling this very well, don't go riling him up. We need him just as much as we need each other, you got that?"

Horner huffed, annoyed. "If you say so, General."

"I do."

"What has been going on with Tychus? He didn't tell me anything." Stetmann almost sounded hurt.

"Been hearing and feeling weird bug stuff. I know you probably have too but it seems to be a lot worse for him."

"There _is_ some weird... Buzzing in my mind." Horner admitted.

"Very interesting." Stetmann hadn't been having any sort of mental issues, but he was not going to volunteer that particular bit of information until he knew more. Theories started to whirl through his mind though, as they always did.

"Right. Well, just try not to poke the bear alright? And Stetmann. Don't run away from him."

"Huh?"

"He almost hunted you down when you ran off the field earlier. Don't know why, but probably best to avoid that."

"Wow, that sounds almost like a prey drive!" Hands reaching for his pen and paper, Stetmanns face fell when he remembered he left it in the lab.

"So, how much worse off is Tychus?" _Visually_ need not be spoken. Matt was morbidly curious.

"You'll see him soon. He's..." Stetmann paused, halting the groups progression and closing his eyes for a second, frowning. "At the armory doors?"

"And how do you know that, kid?" Warfield questioned, suspicious. Stetmann had already taken off walking at a brisk pace though, muttering something about "flexing muscle". Warfield and Horner followed, confused.

They did not have to walk far before the distant banging became audible, hastening their pace. What they found was Tychus, cursing vehemently and partially stuck under the massive reinforced armory door. He was on one knee that had become trapped under the door when he lost the strength to lift the door any further.

Matt whispered a tense _holy shit_ at the sight. It meant that one man had lifted that door in the first place, and since Tychus had not put a shirt on, his layered flesh was clearly visible.

"_A little help here?" _Tychus all but snarled, taking a breath and resting his forehead against the cool steel.

"What in the hell are you doing, Tychus? Not that I'm not impressed, mind you."

"What does it look like I'm doin', chief? Getting the door to the weapons open! Grab that container I brought over and help me get it under." Thankfully his leg was holding out fine, he was just completely stuck.

The three men looked to the large cargo box Tychus had also apparently hauled over, pausing only a moment before springing to action.

"Put some muscle into it! You two nerds gotta move that box under here while Tychus and I lift!" Warfield snapped at Matt and Egon, each picking a corner of the box and shoving it towards the door. Gritting their teeth and grunting, the two were huffing when it finally bumped into the armory door.

"In place, sir." Stetmann huffed, resting his hands on his knees.

"Alright, get ready. Three... Two... One!" Warfield and Tychus tossed their heads back and bared their teeth, snarling as the door lifted off of Tychus' knee and screamed in protest as it went up farther.

"C'mon... _Hurry_." Tychus grated, both his and Warfield's arms were trembling as they waited for the container to be slid into place. Stetmann and Horner threw their weight into it and the container screeched against the steel beneath it as it moved into place, not a moment too soon either.

Both Warfield and Tychus collapsed to their knees in unison, the cargo container dented inwards slightly when all of the weight of the armory door rested on it, but held firm.

Panting and rubbing at his knee, Tychus nodded at the three other men around him. "Thanks for the assist. Nice job."

Horner and Stetmann were resting against the cargo container, huffing for breath. "Hello _Tychus_." Horner mumbled, a half-assed greeting but it would do.

"_Captain._" Tychus snarked in return, pulling a cigar and lighter out of his pants pockets, lighting up.

"Not this shit. Listen, you two jackals can go duke it out somewhere else. Just remember that we're still in this together. We might not be stuck to a wall but we're still in deep shit, just in case you needed a reminder."

"No. Don't reckon it would do us any good." Tychus straightened up, everyone else following suit at their own pace. "Only difference between now and a few days ago is a bit of beauty sleep."

"Speaking of beauty sleep." Horner muttered, nudging Stetmann with his elbow and drawing his attention to his hand. "Any ideas?" He would have vomited, had there been anything left in his stomach, when he held his hand up and exposed his palm. It was a bit tricky, now that he wasn't so tense, but tilting his hand back and stiffening his fingers into a curled position drew the tendrils out from their hiding place in his skin. Stetmann made a retching sound, barely catching himself.

"N-no. Whew. Sorry. Never seen anything like this." Taking hold of Matt's wrist, very careful to not touch any of the protrusions, Stetmanns eyes split away so he could look at it with other, stronger eyes.

"_What-_" Horner made to jump away but Stetmann held fast.

"Relax. Every one of us has been mutated, best get used to it. Something coating the tendrils. Will need my lab equipment operational to know anything further, sorry sir."

Tychus, ever the opportunist, grinned and chuckled. Successfully drawing Horners attention, he piped up. "That lil' doll, Mira Han, will love you now."

Even Warfield snorted laughter.

"Not even _slightly_ funny."

Taking a drag of his cigar, Tychus grinned like a jackal. "We'll just have to agree to disagree now won't we?"

Matt was about to put his hand to his forehead in frustration but caught himself at the last second, slapping his hand back down to his side. "Look, I better go see what I can do about the Adjutant, if anything. Need to think."

"Fair enough, not much we can really do right now. Got some logs I want to look over, myself." Warfield gave everyone a quick nod, him and Horner leaving together. Tychus and Stetmann looked at one another.

"Well egghead, I'm gonna go see what toys I can play with in the armory. Can come if you want, don't matter to me none."

"I'll go back to the lab Tychus, thanks." Stetmann rubbed his temples as he parted ways with Tychus, his brain hurt.

"More for me." He had to duck to enter, but seeing a hangar full of machines, guns and explosives was similar to entering Valhalla for someone like Tychus. "_Hell_ yes." Puffing his cigar and rubbing his hands together, he started looking around.

Warfield returned to his living quarters, resolutely ignoring the cocoon he had broken out of and sitting down at his nondescript desk. He had a small stack of records not connected to the Hyperions network, as he was a barely tolerated guest at the start of all this, each one contained information about his men. Dutifully he began filling out their time of death, how it came to be and any exemplary behavior before it happened. _You're right Raynor._ _Sending all those good men to hell was the worst part._

Tychus was staring up at the much less impressive looking Thor that Swann had designed, fondly remembering the pure chaos he unleashed when he was piloting the Odin, when the spines at the base of his neck pricked upwards. Remaining still but focusing, he decided that there was a distinct _watched_ feeling. Taking a slow breath, he held his cigar up as if to toss it and used the nondescript motion to look farther off to his right out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, a flicker of motion behind the spider mine containers caught his attention. Dropping the cigar to the cold cement floor, he put it out with his bare foot and casually walked further into the storage container area of the armory for better cover. He'd find out what was in there with him.

The Zerg had taken the ship long ago, it felt like forever. Jayce, a Junior Mechanical Engineer, had taken as many containers of rations that she could carry from the mess hall and holed up in the armory when the Queen of Blades herself entered the Hyperion and took all of their leaders. Those few who had combat experience had already suited up and left the armory long before she got there, and that was how she ended up sealed inside, alone and waiting to die. But the Zerg never broke down that armory door, and though she had seen some of her wiser co-workers and friends banging on it, begging for saving, she saw too the fast scorpion-looking monsters that were already on them through the security cameras. They were as good as dead.

When the fighting had died down, what pitiful little the shipmates could do, the entire ship went dark. Jayce had been keeping an eye of the state of the ship through the control terminal in Swanns head offices, and fear coiled in her guts when the Adjutant had alerted her that the cocoons the Zerg had placed on the ship had begun to hatch. Each day a new monster emerged she had cried for another great man who had been twisted. Since then, the Adjutant had alerted her to any and all attempts to access anything on the ship and Jayce used her technical skills and higher level access to block them from overriding any of the Adjutants protocols.

Now, she was dressed in a Ghost outfit and hiding for her life behind a box of spider mines. _Ain't this just a bitch._ It was truly a blessing that the Commander had invested in advanced Ghost suits that could cloak forever, she had practiced with it the second she found one and was able to remain hidden if perfectly still, else flaws appeared. When she peeked over the box and saw that Tychus Findlay, now a clawed and spined monster, was nowhere to be seen, her insides went cold. _If I can get to Swanns office, I can turn on the auto turrets and maybe take him out. _Problem was, Swanns office was at the opposite end of the bay and she could either make her way through the storage containers or across the open space.

Unable to cloak properly while moving, Jayce opted for the storage container route. If she spotted him, she'd hold still and he wouldn't notice her. That was just how it was going to have to be. Barely breathing, Jayce began her painfully slow crouched walk to the containers, eye on the prize at the top of the stairs.

Tychus had made a beeline for the industrial sized light switch he caught sight of along the wall, clenching his teeth at the loud CLACK the lights overhead made when he pulled the lever. _There_. A sharp intake of breath, barely audible, announced his quarry didn't like the change of surroundings. Lips curling into a grin, Tychus only had to blink a few times before the darkened room looked as clear as day. Then he started hunting.

Swallowing tightly, Jayce had not thought to put on the high-tech goggles that Ghosts wore for situations like this and she cursed inwardly. Nearly crawling, all she had was her ears and the dim light cast by the partially opened armory door. When she reached the bulk of the containers, she straightened up and started moving at a faster pace, trying to control her breathing. When a black mass leaped over her head from one container to another, she audibly clapped her hands to her mouth to keep from shrieking. He had been so silent, and now she had given her position freely. Nobody ever trained engineers how to run and hide from monsters properly.

Tychus' eyes widened when he heard the clap of hands, entirely surprised. Professionals, hell, _rookies_ don't make those kind of mistakes. Brows furrowing as he straightened up and leaned forwards slightly, looking over the edge of the box and trying to spot what had made the noise. There was only cement floor, but he knew what he heard. Determined, he braced a hand on the edge of the container and lowered himself down slowly, annoyed at the sound of his claws clicking on the cement.

Jayce was facing Tychus and what felt like nearly touching bodies, face to face. _He's going to hear my heart racing, my breathing, something_. She wasn't sure if she was breathing at all when a dinner plate sized hand stretched forwards and slowly closed around air behind her head. Jayce had leaned forwards ever so slightly, shrugging her shoulders into her body as tight as she could, eyes bugging as those mutated razors for nails nearly touched her hair and her nose nearly touched his collar bone.

Elsewhere...

When Stetmann entered the lab, he nearly yelled his surprise but managed to keep it to a sharp jerk backwards. Standing beside the Zerg specimen tank was a single infested Terran. Before he could speak, Shlassa hissed. "Control it. _Flex the muscle._"

* * *

><p>I don't think our new friend, Jayce, treating Tychus like a T-rex is going to work out so well for her, do you? Sorry that I didn't give you a daily update! The more characters I add, the more I have to keep track of and it is definitely gonna slow down from here on out I think. If you have any questions about things going on in the story by all means PM me, I enjoy talking about it. :D See you in the next chapter!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Tychus saw her. When he raised his arm partially and closed his fist around air, the imperfections of the cloaking suit became obvious against his skin. All at once he discerned her face nearly pressed to his chest and her body scrunched together as hard as she could get it, attempting to be as small as possible. The faint brush of air against his skin when she couldn't hold her breath anymore brought him back to the present from his observations.

"Got yourself in a bit of a bind now, don't you?" Looking into her eyes sharply, he saw the tenseness and will to run being fought. "_Don't_ run." He warned, all too aware of the rush he was getting as it was.

"Just kill me." Jayce whispered. There was a pistol holstered on her hip, but she didn't have to be a damn combat veteran to know it wouldn't do anything worth mentioning even if she drew and fired fast enough.

Tychus paused, unmoving as he entered a moral struggle. Killing her _would_ be a kindness, but she was also not infested. They could use her to work around the Adjutant and with some luck save her too, he decided. Lowering his hand back to his side, he took a slow step backwards: every movement slow so as not to spook her into a run. "Not going to kill you. We have control of ourselves. Gonna try to get you outta here in one piece, doll." Jayce nearly passed out, but she wasn't sure if it was from holding her breath or relief.

In the laboratory, Stetmann was learning to feel out and manipulate the simple infested Terran.

"It is empty. Fill it and control it." Shlassa intoned, eyes glittering.

Stetmann felt revulsion, both at himself and what he found inside the Terran- or lack thereof, the thought of what he was doing and how this had been a man once left his control flagging quickly. He had directed the infested to hand him his notepad, but it dropped to the floor as his thoughts wavered, the infested becoming immobile- like a puppet without strings.

Sitting down, he rubbed his temples and took a breath while Shlassa chittered in annoyance before pausing, dead still.

Jayce clumsily disabled the cloaking suit, almost in tears from relief and disbelief as she became solid. "I saw you and the others come out of those egg-things. I couldn't believe that there would be any humanity left in you, I am sorry." The suit fit the woman ill and she looked bedraggled with disheveled hair, dark rings under her eyes and grease stains smeared on her cheeks. Tychus recognized her immediately, he had pinched her butt once when he was still stuck in the suit.

"Shh. Don't know how watched I am." In truth, Tychus was trying his best to school his thoughts and not draw attention. There was no way Shlassa wasn't watching, maybe even Kerrigan too. He might not kill the woman with his own hands, but there was no saying someone else wouldn't.

Nodding, Jayce looked around nervously and whispered. "What now then?"

Rubbing his mouth in thought, Tychus looked over her suit and then the room around them. "Gonna have to hide you again. I'll get the lights." Brushing past her, he was aware of the gun she had on her hip, but not concerned. If he survived Stetmann blasting a hole in his chest, no normal gun was ever going to take him down.

As the lights were switched back on, Jayce became aware of an Adjutant alert blaring in Swanns office- she could vaguely see the red light flashing through the window. Feeling a chill inside her guts, she pulled out the small data pad in her utility belt and accessed the message. Her eyes widened. "Tychus..." The infested on the ship were moving en masse towards the armory- and the door was jammed open with a damned cargo box.

"What?" He had come over quickly, a prickling sensation rippling through his mind.

"The infested are _coming_! I can't close the armory door either!" Her panic that had subsided such a short while ago had returned full force- she stuck the data pad back into her belt and turned to look at Tychus, nearly getting bowled over by him as he grunted and stumbled.

A _force_ had entered Tychus, knocking him to his knees and taking his breath away. When his body started to rise without his permission he realized what was happening and tried to lock his muscles, his body, in place. "_Run._" Was all he could growl out as his hands took a clumsy swipe at her.

Leaping backwards as though he was on fire, Jayce wasn't going to question what was going on, not with an order like that. She ran towards Swanns office full tilt, all but falling up the stairs in her haste.

When Jayce turned and ran, Tychus felt the instinct to chase and catch surging through his burning muscles, all he could do was let out a primal yell as he shambled after her. Jayce punched in her key code to lock the door with shaking hands, watching through the industrial window as Tychus looked to be fighting literal possession. She also saw the shambling bodies of her former co-workers passing under the armory door, her mouth open in sick horror while her hands sought out the buttons for the auto-turrets on the command console.

Desperate, Tychus cried out in his mind as the blades embedded in his arms flipped out with a practiced ease- Shlassa was at the wheel. _Stop! She is useful! We can use her!_ Heaving for breath, he stood at the base of the stairs and turned rigidly to face an auto-turret as it popped up out of the floor.

_She is weak, and you will destroy her. Do not fight me, Terran. I will break your mind._

As one, each man aboard was pulled into their mental conflict the second Tychus addressed Shlassa. Guns, booze and papers fell from hands as they reached up to press at temples and cradle faces.

Tychus had leaped forwards and severed the first auto-turret at its base the moment it began firing at him, thick bullets that had only partially embedded into his flesh were already being pushed outwards by his unnatural healing. The other auto-turret was firing at the infested who were stumble-running towards it, and it was quickly broken by the pounding of inhumanly strong limbs. When Tychus' eyes settled on the window where Jayce stared at him, Horner, Stetmann and Warfield all saw it.

Slamming his fist into the floor beneath him, Warfield snarled. _NO! Don't you dare kill that girl! Don't you dare!_

Tychus was climbing the stairs towards the door and the infested were coming with him.

_S-stop! _Horner cried in his mind, not sure if he was telling Tychus to not kill the girl or for his mind to stop being ripped to pieces.

"Shlassa! We can use her! She can help us use the ship because she is not infested! Stop, please!" Stetmann was in the lab with the broodmother and on his knees on the creep-covered floor, using his voice as he struggled to help Tychus fight the broodmothers physical control.

"She will die. Stop struggling." Shlassa responded cool and collected, killing was second nature and weakness would never be tolerated.

Blood began to ooze out of their noses and ears as Horner, Warfield and Stetmann were fighting in Tychus' mind.

When he reached the door, Tychus jammed his claws straight into the steel on one side and began to peel it open like a tuna can while the infested banged on the window.

_My Queen._

_What, Shlassa?_

_The Terrans have found a survivor and their minds are about to break trying to save it._

_**What?**_

Kerrigan immediately focused on the Hyperion and what was happening inside it, her fist clenching at the Zergling that had been coiled under it and making it hiss with pain.

_We failed everyone else, but we can save her! Fight it Tychus you son of a bitch! _Warfield was on his side on the floor, nearly reduced to twitching and flailing.

All of them were throwing themselves against Shlassa's control and being batted aside like toddlers.

Tychus was looking Jayce in the eyes as the door screamed in protest and bent, nearly wide open enough for him to squeeze through. Jayce had taken her gun out of its holster and had it pointed at her head, attempting to gather enough bravery to pull the trigger and spare herself.

_**ENOUGH! **_Kerrigan's will was to Shlassa as Shlassa's will was to the four men, and they were all immediately freed. Blood leaking out of his ears, Tychus flung himself forwards with far more vigor, breaking through the door and throwing himself at Jayce. The gun went off, but into the wall when Tychus slammed Jayce's arm roughly to the side with a snap and a startled cry from her.

Practically laying on the woman, Tychus rested one arm over the top of her chair and rested his forehead on that, still holding her arm aloft with his right hand as he struggled to collect himself.

"It's alright. It's alright. They won't kill you." He mumbled, trying to be reassuring but for the most part just squeezing the womans possibly broken arm and breathing all over her face as she lay there stunned. The infested were already dispersing, being sent to idle elsewhere. Stetmann, Warfield and Horner were recovering similarly to Tychus- laying wherever they happened to be at the start of the ordeal and breathing heavily.

_Shlassa. _Kerrigans ire burned the broodmother, who recoiled where she stood in Stetmann's lab.

_My Queen!_

_You were chosen to safeguard my charges, and you nearly turned them into vegetables just now._

_They fight me! I was simply eradicating a survivor, and they chose to die over it._

Gritting her teeth, Kerrigan debated smiting the broodmother right then and there.

_Then you let the survivor live and inform me. Right now it is useful, you will leave it be. __But if this happens again, Shlassa... You will wish that I had killed you._

_Yes, my Queen!_ Shlassa bowed to nobody, so distressed she was to have upset her Queen in such a way.

Tychus nearly fell asleep right there, half laying on Jayce as he was, until she hissed in pain and reached for her injured arm. "Shit." He mumbled, letting go of her arm which was already developing a dark hand-shaped bruise, the gun dangled from her fingertips and fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Tychus." Jayces voice was soft, oddly calm as she stared at the chest nearly smushing her face. "It was a zombie apocalypse in here no less than two minutes ago. What the hell is going on?" Maybe she was in shock. He'd have to get Stetmann to look at her arm at the very least, but he was so tired.

"Had a chat with the higher-ups and managed to get you a free pass." How he kept his humor, even when the last of the bullets shot into his chest from the auto-turret popped out of his skin and landed in Jayces lap, no one would know.

Stetmann, Warfield and Horner had all curled up where they were and entered a deep sleep of recovery. Even with each man having intense regenerative abilities, the damage their minds had taken nearly sent them into hibernation.

Forcing himself to his knees beside the chair Jayce was sitting in, instead of on it and her, Tychus laid heavily on his side against the cold plated steel- unable to stop from closing his eyes. "We'll get you fixed up. Just need some shut-eye. Don't shoot yourself, sweet thing." He mumbled before falling asleep. Jayce was cradling her broken arm as it throbbed, sincerely considering trying to kill him with the pistol while he was apparently vulnerable. Standing up, she leaned over to pick the gun up with her good hand, wincing and gritting her teeth.

Swallowing thickly, she pointed the gun at his head and blinked away tears angrily- _This is a kindness! He would have killed an infested without a second thought too._ Jayce was trying to convince herself as her hand shook and more angry tears tracked through the grime on her face.

The lights flickered harshly, making Jayce falter and look around- fearful of another Zerg assault. When she saw the stooped shape of what had to be a Protoss standing on the opposite side of the window, though she had never actually seen one, she was stunned.

Zeratul had entered the ship as fast as safely possible when he sensed the confrontation, how the Terrans had rallied together in an attempt to save the lone survivor had sparked hope inside him. Though their battle was over, a small victory for them, he sensed the inner conflict of the woman. _Stop._ He implored, planting a large four-fingered hand up against the glass with a clack. _There is not much time. You must not kill them, you are of great importance to the humanity of these men. You can save them, there is always hope!_ In truth, he was not entirely certain about his statement, but nothing in the future was certain right now. He had appeared, taking advantage of the broodmother and Kerrigans relaxed mental grip on the crew to deliver his message, and disappeared in a flicker of the lights as soon as he was done speaking.

_Am I going insane?_ Jayce questioned what she had just saw and heard, staring hard at the window. _Why would a Protoss even be here?_ The angry throbbing of her arm as it swelled up around the break brought her back to the present. The arm of her ghost suit was going to require cutting, it had become too tight for anything else. Slamming her gun back into its holster, she swiped the back of her sleeve across her face and stepped over the sleeping Tychus gingerly. The Adjutant could help her find some pain killers in the med bay. _We'll see about that free pass._

Jayce walked past the corpses of the few infested one auto-turret had taken out quickly, trying not to think about them. Pulling the data pad from her belt, she placed it on a box and clumsily brought up a floor plan, charting a route to the med bay one-handed before picking it back up. The path was a bit roundabout, but she would give all infested and Zerg-related matter a very wide berth, which was preferable even though her arm throbbed with her heartbeat painfully. Walking under the jammed open armory door, Jayce gathered her courage and went forth. The ghosts of the people she had spent so much time with were her companions in the dimly lit halls, reminding her of what she originally joined Raynor's Raiders for in the first place, and how it all went so wrong in the end. With the Adjutant's guidance, she would make it to the med bay within a few hours and give herself basic medical treatment, following the computers guidelines.

Rory Swann woke to piercing silence, listened to Stetmanns message somberly and dressed without a word. When he looked at himself in the small mirror he would normally use to shave, he beheld a body covered in chitinous armor of a pale brown color and strange spiny hair, similar to Kerrigan herself but short. He almost laughed when his face seemed human, so out of place it was, complete with beard and all. The real kicker, he thought, was his all new arm. _How many times did I dream about having it back? At what cost did I get it?_ Bitter, he walked into the quiet halls of the Hyperion and thought about Stetmann and his message. _They still need me. I can still help people. _So he set out to do just that: the first order would be to deal with the Adjutant and then getting this tub up and running.

Stetmann, Tychus, Warfield and Horner all woke up roughly at once. Warfield looked blearily at the legs of his chair, pressing a hand to the side of his temple as he forced himself up with the other. Stetmann felt warm, as if he was laying on a soft blanket. When he opened his eyes the illusion shattered, the creep on the floor throbbing in its disturbing fleshy way, he would have gotten up faster had the motion not hurt his head so much. Horner woke up on the unforgiving cantina floor, the drink he had in his hand when he had been pulled into a mental struggle had long dried, but there were shards of glass pressing against his thickened skin annoyingly. Tychus groaned, having been shoved against the back wall of Swanns control room, but otherwise left untouched.

Tychus' eyes focused slowly, brows furrowing in confusion at the foreign shape of the person at the control panel. Only when Swann turned around to look at him after hearing his second rasping groan did he register who it was.

"The dead awaken, apparently; Not the best place for a nap though. Why the hell did you go and trash my control room?" Swann sounded rather cross. Tychus supposed they had not been on the best of terms after roughing him up in the cantina, but he couldn't find the strength to give a damn about being combative. All at once he recalled why he was, indeed, laying on the floor in Swanns control room. Sitting up fast, his eyes focused on where the gun had been on the floor. "Where'd the girl go?"

"Girl? You on the sauce or what? Why don't you get outta here, I'm trying to get this place running." Swann clearly had the Zerg hair thing going on, but he was also wearing his thick mechanic outfit which obscured everything else, so Tychus didn't pay it much mind.

Wetting his parched lips, Tychus stood up and slowly walked out of the room, leaving Swann eyeing him. He had already done his double-takes and staring while Tychus was down for the count, he was done being surprised.

"You just keep doin' what you're doin'. Got some business to attend to." Absently he swiped at the crusted blood on his upper lip and ears. He was recalling bits of what happened quicker by the second, the destroyed auto-turrets and corpses of the infested helping jar the memory when he saw it. By the time he was ducking under the armory door he was making a bee-line for the med bay.

_Tychus?_ Stetmanns voice was clear as a bell in his head, raising his ire immediately.

_Get the hell out of my head_. He wasn't sure if the message was sent, but if Stetmann didn't want to have to pray for some queen bug bitch to save his ass from evisceration, he wouldn't do it again.

Stetmann gathered up papers and affixed them to his clipboard, keeping his eyes down and avoiding Shlassa, who thankfully was silent and ignoring him. He had felt Tychus seething, but it was so clear and easy- and he had so many theories why it could be. He needed to get everyone together. Talking to them in their minds would have been the easiest, what with the comm system still down, but he decided against it after Tychus' reaction. He would just have to find everyone more manually, maybe with a little cheating.

Horner was piecing together what had happened, sitting on a stool in the cantina and sorting through his mind. He felt like he actually _was_ Tychus for a time, and he had been fighting so hard to just control himself. It was too surreal, distressing, and he needed another drink.

Warfield was walking through the halls of the Hyperion, thinking on what had happened, like everyone else. He remembered the woman clearly, but couldn't recall if Tychus had managed to not tear her to shreds, the imagery in his mind was so vivid. He was looking the woman in the eyes, she had the gun to her head, and he was about to get in. That was when it went dark and he couldn't find any memories beyond that. His feet guided him to the armory, where he'd find out for sure if she lived or not.

"Raptor strain Zergling. Capable of scaling cliffs and more aggressive than lesser Zergling." Abathur droned while Kerrigan listened, watching the Raptor strain tear through Terrans with their own eyes and tasting the spoils with their hungry mouths. She _was_ the Swarm.

"Can only choose one. Your choice?" The Swarm had stopped its interstellar travel for this, Abathur had found several useful bio signatures that the Swarm could make their own and brought it to his Queens attention. Kerrigan was always eager to guide the evolution of the Swarm.

"The Raptor strain will serve us best." Crippling the high ground advantage of some of their enemies most powerful weapons against the Zerg- Siege tanks and Colossus in particular, was a game changer and a no-brainer as far as Kerrigan was concerned.

"Swarmling strain discarded. Raptor strain integrated."

"Good." With but a thought, the mass of Zerg resumed their journey through space.

Tychus was standing in front of a medical table with tools laid out on it, telling Jayces story clearly though she was long gone. How long had they been asleep? He was still unsure, time meant a lot less to you when you had such a surplus of it. Looking at a strip of dried up bloodstained cloth and a container of half-spilled antiseptic fluid, he frowned. _Arm was definitely broken._ Grabbing the edge of the cloth he picked it up and held it in his hand, debating. On one hand, it was damn gross, but on the other he had no other means of finding someone who could be anywhere on the ship and cloaked to boot. Sighing, he gave in to the urge that had been pressing at the back of his mind the second he saw the blood. Sniffing the dried blood on the bandage deeply, his mouth watered in hunger; Not his hunger, the Swarms.

Jayce had tried so hard to follow the directions the Adjutant gave for checking the break and setting it, but she just couldn't do it with her left hand and the mind-boggling pain. She had given up after trying to check the type of break it was with a long needle that she had to jam into her skin, nearly dumping the whole container of antiseptic on herself afterwards with how bad her left hand was shaking. Frustrated, Jayce had resorted to digging up some heavy pain killers and anti-inflammatories, stealing some more rations from the mess and holing up in her room in the living quarters. The Adjutant had guided her around the infested the whole way, but she had almost given up on going for her room when the machine showed her footage of General Warfield laying in his room. Even the idea of being near one of those higher functioning infested sent her into a shaking fit.

She hadn't killed Tychus- the Protoss had ensured that, but she regretted it. Now she couldn't block the infested from taking out the Adjutant and getting the ship operational, only armed with her simple tools and data pad. It was just a matter of time before they found her now, and she would be ready to use the gun without hesitation this time. But first: sleep.

Swann and Warfield caught sight of one another at roughly the same time. Warfield had walked into the armory and towards the control room, wanting to have his question answered. Swann had stepped out of the control room after having the urge to smash things when the Adjutant was giving him trouble. The two paused mid-stride, making eye contact.

Attracted to his distress, Stetmann made his way to the cantina when he felt Horner there. Not entirely sure what he was about to find, he peered around the door cautiously as it slid open with a gasp. Horner was sitting at the table in the center of the cantina below the banged up jukebox, and had what was possibly all the booze in the whole room arrayed in front of him.

"Stetmann." Tilting his head slightly towards the younger man, Horner proceeded to pour the remaining liquid of the bottle in his hand down his throat, slapping his lips before smirking. "Zerg can't get drunk."

"Ah, well no... Our metabolisms are far too strong for intoxication anymore, sir."

Horner sighed. "What do you want, Stetmann?"

"We need to talk sir, I have important information to share and I believe everyone should be present. It is relevant to all of us and our situation."

"How does it even matter? We've lost. The artifact is destroyed, can't even remove our own Zerg taint now. Not to mention Kerrigan is going to use us to kill the people we were trying to save in the first damn place." It was rather sad, Stetmann thought, to see the unflappable and ever-optimistic captain of the ship be so somber.

* * *

><p>Ahh we're getting so close to the start of the fun, I can hardly wait myself. Only one person left to wake up. ;)<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

"I am going to assume there is no dead girl in that room."

"You're not the first Zerged up person to ask me about a girl today, actually." Swann quirked a brow, looking Warfield over. "So is there really some girl running around, or is your brain fried too?"

Shaking his head and chuckling, Warfield cracked a smile. "Yeah, Tychus found a survivor and some shit went down. Wasn't sure if she made it, so I came to check. If Tychus was here then he's lookin' for her and we'll hear about it soon enough. You need a hand with anything?"

Nodding his head slightly, Swann gestured for Warfield to follow. "Yeah. We're gonna have to get to the Adjutants room down in lower sector T, I'm sure I can make use of you. Let me grab some tools and we'll go."

When no fancy bloodhound instinct kicked in after he sniffed the bloody cloth, Tychus grimaced. _Can't win em all._ A bit grossed out with himself, he tossed the cloth back to the table and took a good look around. It would be prudent to get some anesthetic, he figured. He was poking through containers and breaking into any cupboards that had remained sealed, the girl having broken into just about everything already, when he found what he was looking for: surgical anesthetic. _Bingo_. He grabbed enough to possibly knock out even himself and returned to searching.

She couldn't have left the ship and she'd be avoiding all the infested- intelligent ones and otherwise. Food and water would be important for a person looking to hole up somewhere, so he stalked off to the mess hall.

"Captain. I know this situation seems very bleak, but we have to fight just like we always have, don't you see?" Stetmann stood across the table from Horner, clenching and unclenching his fingers around his clipboard while looking at him in concern.

Staring at the younger man dully, Horner rested his hands on the tabletop. "I fought to help free our sector from a tyrant, so did you. But we let Jim pull us into a mad bid to free his past and got killed for it. As far as I am concerned we're dead and this is our hell, Stetmann."

Frustrated, Stetmann wished for the power to just make Horner _see_ what needed to be seen. "You only woke up recently, so maybe you don't really know or remember what happened with Tychus and that survivor. We _have_ something-someone to fight for _right now_, and that mental struggle against Shlassa is _proof_ we have the strength to fight this!" It was clear he wasn't getting anywhere with the Captain. Horner was staring off at a point on the ceiling and resolutely ignoring him.

_Stetmann_. Tychus grumbled in everyone's mind.

Horners eyebrows drew together tightly as he brought two fingertips to his temple and pressed, discomfort clear.

Stetmann perked up, eyes widening in surprise.

"What?" Swann dropped the small wrench he had been using on the door panel that separated him and Warfield from the Adjutants room, pressing his palm to his forehead. Warfield grunted, uncomfortable but not in the kind of discomfort he had felt before when receiving _bug messages_, as he liked to think of them.

Tychus found her a lot faster than he thought he would, but he supposed it was habit to hide in a place that felt safe and familiar to yourself, even if it was a bad one. Checking the mess had gone fast- clearly raided, and since he had not felt any _normal_ hunger pangs, he deduced nobody else had either. From there he took a guess and made his way to the sector containing all the floors with rooms for the crew, figuring she may have gone for "home". He dredged up the memory of when he pinched her butt and tried to remember anything distinct, other than almost being brained by a wrench. Orange outfit. One of Swann's engineer types.

He was glad he had taken the time to get to know the floors of the ship, and subsequently where the different cliques had been housed. From there it was just silently creeping through the halls until the renewed smell of anesthetic burned his nose. While he was hesitant, especially after the hostility he threw at Stetmann over it earlier, he called out to him mentally all the same.

_Stetmann. Found the girl, door is locked though. Don't want to break it down, she took her gun. I know her arm is broken and I brought some knock-out drugs, gonna need your help. _He was not confident that he had successfully sent his message at all, but he felt in his gut that it had gotten through- and Tychus often trusted his gut, so he waited.

Swann sighed, feeling an unnatural fatigue as he wiped his forehead on the back of his sleeve and turned to face Warfield. "So we got some kind of _bug radio_ now?"

"Yeah, not fond of it either." Warfield was resting his hands on top of the Gauss rifle he had taken to carrying around, just in case.

"Well. I got a skeleton key card we can use on the door, guess we should go give em a hand. If whoever this person is, isn't infested, we won't have to fight with the Adjutant to override a bunch of the infested protocols."

The Generals brows furrowed, but he turned to follow Swann as he started walking all the same. "If you have some skeleton key, how come you aren't using it on that door?"

"It would be pretty disastrous for some infiltrator or unsavory sort to get a hold of a key to the castle, don't you think?" Swann snipped. "Its _only_ for the living quarters, specifically for room maintenance and medical emergencies."

"Alright, fair enough."

Stetmann recovered from his surprise quickly after receiving the message. Depending on how severe the break was, the woman could need immediate medical attention. With time being of the essence, he looked sharply at his despondent Captain. "If you won't help, then it is most likely we will fail." Focusing briefly, the ability to pinpoint where people were was becoming easier every time he tried. "I will be with Tychus in the Engineer section of housing, should you choose to pull your head out of your ass."

Walking away briskly, he paused at the door as it hissed open and added thoughtfully. "If anyone could recognize who this person is, it would be you Captain." Horners gaze was heavy on his back as he left.

_Be there soon, Tychus._

The lack of response to him being outside of her door, and noise in general, was grating on Tychus. With nothing better to do while he was waiting, he thought about Stetmann. That kid was handling this situation better than anyone, and he supposed giving him more credit was in order, like Warfield had said. Rubbing his face with a hand, his thoughts of the squirrely scientist gave him a queer feeling in his head: As though he could picture the other mans surroundings as he was walking, snippets of thoughts and where he was in relation to Tychus. At best, he could relate it to some kind of radar. A very annoying radar.

When Stetmann came walking around a corner, Tychus swore he saw himself through his eyes for a second and blinked hard, shaking his head.

"Something wrong?"

"Aside from there being a girl who's probably going to shoot herself the second that door opens behind said door? No."

Stetmann took a breath, looking at the door and thinking like always. "Alright. Swann and Warfield are coming. I can't do anything about the door but maybe they can. It is entirely possible that the woman is unconscious, which would make things easier but also means she may need serious medical attention."

Sighing, Tychus looked at the door and considered smashing it. Stetmann followed his train of thought with his eyes and shook his head sharply, but Tychus did not follow through thanks to Swann and Warfield.

"Hey. Heard you were having some trouble and came to give a hand." Swann piped up, they had come from the opposite direction of Stetmann and approached from behind Tychus, who turned to look at them casually.

"Yeah. Figured the doll might want to keep her door." Smirking, he stepped aside as Swann swooped in, all business as he pulled a key card off his belt and went for the door.

"Came as quick as we could. Any idea who this person is?" Warfield intoned, standing back and out of the way to watch.

"No. The Captain would probably know- he was very good at keeping up with faces, but he decided to not come." Stetmann could not mask the disappointment in his tone while he watched Swann swipe the card and punch a short code into the door pad.

"Was some kind of techie, one of Swanns folk. He might know." Tychus offered as the door hissed open, four pairs of eyes peering into the lit room cautiously.

Jayce was splayed out on top of her bed covers, gun held loosely in her good hand, sound asleep. Her data pad was resting on her stomach, below her broken arm, and flashing a red warning continually. The room itself was furnished sparsely, and if it wasn't for there being a simple comb resting on the greasy machine part covered tabletop, there would be no indication of a female living there.

"Yeah, that's one of mine." Swann piped up, stepping aside for Stetmann as he squeezed in quickly and took stock of the situation. Jayce's gun was relieved from her feverish fingertips and passed off to Tychus to hold, who traded a handful of anesthetic shots off to Stetmann.

"Don't think we need that much, but thanks Tychus." Stetmann quickly and expertly measured and administered the shot, to which there was no visible reaction.

"Never know." The big man shrugged and stepped out, it was too cramped in the small room for his tastes.

Free to touch her arm without any adverse reactions, Stetmann pulled back the strips of loosely cut sleeve and gave her arm a good feel, frowning. "You didn't break her arm, Tychus, you pulverized it. We need to get her to the med bay operating room immediately." Stetmann sounded dire as he stepped back from the unconscious woman. Tychus felt a pang of guilt, enough to keep him from trying to defend his actions and arguing.

"I'm going ahead to prep the room, bring her please." All business, Stetmann swooped off to the med bay at a hurried pace. Swann had stepped into the room around him and took a good look at the woman.

"Oh wow, that's Jayce!" Swann was both surprised and impressed, he gathered her up into his arms and left the room with Warfield and Tychus in tow. "She's a tough cookie, can't say I'm surprised to see her still kicking. One of my Junior Mechanical Engineers, she'll be real useful."

"How does a woman end up in space working as a mechanic on a floating rebel palace, anyway?" Tychus shouldn't have been so surprised, but he was looking for reasons to disparage her for getting herself into this mess if he had to be honest with himself.

Offended on her behalf, Swann stepped through a door and mumbled at Tychus. "This woman was a refugee from Summerset-P35. One of those real small colonies you don't hear about. Dominion was oppressing them heavily and all but robbing them of their ability to survive. Turned out bloody like it usually does. Picked her up in an escape pod that was launched from a small ship- she's no stranger to surviving, let me tell you. Lucky worse didn't find her."

"You know everyone's life story, chief?" Tychus and Warfield fell in on either side of Swann as they walked into the med bay, looking for Stetmann.

"The people who work for me? You bet. Everyone in a damn rebellion has one, and they all deserve to be heard." Swann was adamant. His people meant everything to him.

"Strong words, I can get behind them." Warfield chipped in, liking what he heard. He didn't really know Swann, and it was good to see his character on display.

"Ah good, bring her over here quick!" Stetmann was in an operating room with glass walls, prepped and ready. Swann quickly laid Jayce out on the operating table and everyone stood there, unsure.

Already moving her broken arm off to the side and prepping to cut into it, Stetmann paused and looked up at all the uncertain men staring at him, uncomfortable. "Er. I got this, you can leave and check up on her later if you like. I'll put her in one of the containment chambers when I'm done operating." There was a collective sigh of relief- no one was a medic, and doing surgery was well beyond their level of medical expertise.

"Right. I'll come to check up on her later then, sooner she gets up and running the better." Warfield made to leave with Swann and Tychus in tow, but Stetmann spoke before they could.

"If all of you could come back here later together, that would be great. I wanted to talk about what happened with the broodmother and some theories I have, you should all be present." Swabbing Jayces arm with an antiseptic-soaked cotton swab, Stetmann had already started making his surgical incision as he spoke.

Warfield nodded, curious what the younger man had managed to cook up in that egg head of his. "Alright, we'll meet back up in oh-three-hundred. See you then." They left Stetmann to fix Jayce up. Tychus sat down on a small, uncomfortable waiting seat towards the entrance of the med bay, figuring that there really wasn't anything else to do but wait anyway.

Warfield and Swann left together to continue working on the door to the Adjutants room. Swann reasoned to himself that Jayce was not going to be operational in a decent amount of time and he could deal with the Adjutant before then anyway.

If this was what being dead felt like, Jayce was not impressed with how painful it felt. When consciousness came back, she couldn't quite clear the haze from her mind and could barely open her eyes. Moving her limbs was out of the question. There were voices not far away though, low and grumbling, so she stopped trying to open her eyes immediately and focused on hearing and feeling.

She was still on a bed and she couldn't determine if it was her own or not by feel, but going by the _clean_ smell and heavy sedation feeling, she was in the med bay. The men speaking sounded like they were being filtered through a pillow, lacking enough clarity to be understood.

"Why are we having this conversation right beside her, anyway?" Horner had come to the med bay, only to sate his curiosity of who it was that had survived, but hadn't left before everyone else had come back for Stetmanns meeting and was included whether he wanted to be or not.

"Well she's unconscious for starters, but she is also the only other person with a mind on the ship and I believe she should be privy to what is going on too." Stetmann was standing closest to Jayce, clipboard in hand and looking over her post-op information.

"She's in this with us, and she has a damn sight more to lose than us right now too." Warfield agreed, Swann and Tychus grunting their own agreements.

"Yes, well." Stetmann fidgeted with his hands, speaking in front of others was never his strong point. "As you know, we are able to communicate with each other mentally. What you may not know is that we can also control the infested in the ship, too." He kept his eyes down, purposefully avoiding knowing glares so he wouldn't lose his courage. "We've each been getting stronger since we woke up, using our mental abilities just a little bit easier each time we use them. But that struggle with Shlassa? I theorize that she inadvertently forced evolution on us, that we're much stronger than we were before we were forced into a deep sleep."

"You _also_ saw how that little mental battle with the broodmother turned out. We lost, badly." Tychus crossed his arms, frowning. "Just what are you getting at, kid?"

"Gonna have to agree with Tychus, son. I don't much care about the path you're taking to get to the point, just get to the point and quick." Horner was silent and listening, as was Swann who hadn't been a part of their battle with the broodmother in the first place.

"Alright. We need to train ourselves more: harder and faster than this idle discovery we've been going through these past few days. Actually figuring out what we can do physically and pushing ourselves mentally. We need to fight to force ourselves to become stronger, or we won't be able to get out of this."

Tychus was skeptical. "Say we do. Aren't we just giving queeny what she wants? I don't think any of us are capable of comprehending the power of that monsters mind. We could become strong and then she uses us for whatever she has planned, unable to fight her."

"She does want us for something. It bugs me that we don't know what, and Tychus does have a very valid point." Warfield crossed his arms, much like Tychus, and looked thoughtful.

"Kerrigan is not infallible! We just need to make the best of our situation and wait for her to make a mistake." Stetmann was frustrated that they were giving him a hard time, honestly thinking they would be all aboard with the idea of returning to fighting.

"Can't they basically hear everything we're saying and thinking right now, anyway? Kind of hard to fight with no element of surprise." Swann looked discouraged.

"The broodmother, Shlassa is probably listening to us. But I don't think Kerrigan listens all the time, she would have stopped Shlassa from controlling Tychus well before that situation got to the point it did. Just because they know what we're doing does not mean they will interfere, they _do_ want to use us for something, as you said."

Horner rubbed his forearm slightly, squeezing tight when he felt the tendrils inside flexing and writhing. Agitated, he looked up from the floor at Stetmann. "That's the plan? Get stronger, try to fight Kerrigan when we think the time is right? Then what? What happens if we _do_ win, Stetmann? You think our fellow Terrans are going to just welcome us back for help kicking Mengsks ass? We are Zerg."

"I don't know, Captain. But I do know we need to get this ship operational, grow stronger and move forwards. I do know we need to be a team for anything to work at all."

Taking a long, slow breath, Warfield tilted his head back slightly and breathed out before looking back down at Stetmann. "Kids right. No matter what we do, sitting here don't sit right with me. We can at the very least try to help the civilian get out of here, can we agree on that much?"

Each man looked at Jayce, who's eyes had opened far enough to look at them and mind had cleared enough to get the gist of their conversation.

"Oh, you're awake already? Hello!" Stetmann walked around her bed and flashed a light in her eyes, to which she made an annoyed grunt.

Horner looked at Jayce with sympathy, sighing. "I'll help her get out of here, but that's it." No matter how low he got dragged down, Horners morals would always rise up to bother him at the worst times.

"Look, you got my vote kid. You just tell me what I need to do and I'll do what I can, alright?" Swann piped up, casting the first vote.

"I'm in." Tychus mumbled, looking at Jayce as she struggled to get away from Stetmann's prodding of her temporary cast.

Warfield nodded. "It's decided. Need to get this ship running though."

Voice gravelly, Jayce whispered. "Ain't that sweet. I'll help you. God knows I want to get the hell outta here."

"You get rested first, girl. That's an order" Swann came to stand at her bed side and smiled cheeringly.

"Don't have to tell me twice, sir." Smiling, Jayce fell back into an exhausted sleep immediately. She had no strength to fight being infested or murdered, might as well get some shut-eye.

Pleased at the results of the meeting, even if the only thing they could agree on was helping Jayce, Stetmann smiled. "Well, I'm glad that is decided. Jayce here is very lucky that we had gotten to her in time, marrow from the crushed Ulna had already gotten into her bloodstream and bacteria was building up rapidly. Could have easily suffered from blood clots from the marrow particles, too." Stetmann only realized then the glazed looks directed at him, clearing his throat to change the subject. "Yes, well. I think we should get started right away on mental training. We can do that any time and anywhere aboard the ship. It may be distasteful, but try to work on controlling the Infested crew members too. They can't feel or think for themselves, they really aren't the people you once knew them to be, don't let it get to you. We need them if we're going to run this ship with seven people."

"Eh. I don't know about controlling those creepy infested, but I'll try. We _will_ have to wait for Jayce to make any headway on the Adjutant, however. I tripped the security measure on the mainframe door and there is now a several thousand volt electrical field blocking it." Swann and Warfield had also learned very fast that it indeed did hurt _badly_ when touched, Zerg improvements or otherwise.

_I'll see you nerds around then._ Tychus thought towards them, smirking as he walked out and left them all frowning.

Rigid, Horner turned to leave. "That's that, then."

"Son. I know you are dealing with this in your own way, just remember we all are, alright?" Warfield called out to him cautiously.

"Don't know if this can really be _dealt with, _General." Matt stalked out, making for the bridge to do some thinking.

"Not taking it so well, I guess?" Swann looked at the other two men with a quirked brow.

"No. I think it'll blow over when the Commander ecloses though. Not really looking forward to then." Stetmann stared down at Jayce uncomfortably.

All three of them nodded tensely, there was definitely different camps of opinions on how much blame Jim really deserved for their situation, although no one had directly addressed the matter yet.

"Well, enough of that. Findlay has the right idea." _I'll go practice._ Warfield squinted as he thought towards them, feeling the touch of a headache coming on already.


	8. Chapter 8

Being given orders to get lots of rest and take the antibiotics as prescribed felt strange when it was being done on a ship full of mind slaves that was docked on a Leviathan covered in slavering alien animals. Looking down at the small containers in her left hand, Jayce smirked slightly. "I've had my rest Doctor, and now it's time to get back to work. I'll take it easy- there is plenty of muscle available, I'm just here to bypass the Adjutant." Stetmann looked uneasy, but couldn't argue either. Time was ticking down before Jim woke and he felt it was imperative the ship was as close to ready to leave as possible when that happened.

"Alright Jayce." Stetmann tilted his head slightly, rolling his shoulders as he received a message from Swann, who had been hard at practice- if only because he was a practical man. _We're ready to deal with the Adjutant, get Jayce down here._

"Swann wants you down at the Adjutants mainframe. Finally time to get everything up and running!" He couldn't hide his excitement, Stetmann had been all but burning to take a closer look at the samples he gathered and do much more thorough testing on everyone. As soon as Jayce and Tychus were walking away, he made a beeline for the lab in preparation.

"Lets go get this tub running." Jayce began the long walk with a sigh, she was still very easily fatigued and had to take breaks, having not allowed herself more than a couple hours more to rest, but she'd get wherever she needed to be.

Tychus smirked at the little woman ordering him around. Warfield and him had been taking turns guarding Jayce since they lacked the technical expertise to fix most things on the ship, and it was his turn. The two hit it off pretty good during their time together, Jayce was enjoyably sassy and Tychus loved himself some banter. There were times though when she'd recoil away if he got too close when reaching for a tool or helping with an object out of easy reach, but he couldn't blame her.

"So, once you get outta this mess what are you going to do? Find yourself a Mr. Jayce and settle down on some dirt farm?" Resting his hands atop his Gauss rifle, Tychus was smirking easily.

"Burrough is my last name, Tychus. But no, last time I checked the whole sector is either on fire or covered in aliens anyway."

"Burrow as in digging?"

"No. It just sounds the same." Rolling her eyes, she leaned heavily on the guardrail of the stairs as they went down a few floors. Tychus kept an easy stance, ready to catch her if she slipped.

Jayce was puffing and sweat was beading down her forehead when they were done going down the six flights of stairs to the lowest level of the ship, they took a pause for her to catch her breath. "So, what about you? Got a Mrs. Findlay waiting for you somewhere?" Jayce couldn't help but smirk at the thought of a man like Tychus actually being tied down anywhere.

"Oh no. I am a strictly free man, to deny other women my raw sex appeal would be a crime." Leaning on the wall opposite of her, the humor visibly died in his eyes as his smile melted away. "Don't really think we're getting out of this anyway, doll."

"Don't go all Captain on me, please. One of him is enough right now." Taking a deep breath, Jayce righted herself and started walking.

_Tychus. What is taking so long?_

Tychus grunted when Swann barged into his head. _Unless you want me carrying her everywhere, the girl is slow._ When no response came, he nodded to himself and caught up to Jayce quickly.

"Some news?"

"No." Their conversation was officially dead, but it was only a few minutes of listening to their footsteps and the ship humming before they arrived at the electrically charged door.

"Hello beautiful, how you feelin'?" Swann piped up as soon as they were in sight. Jayce took a breath to respond but Tychus barged in.

"Just swell, sugar." Jayce laughed in good humor while Swann made a face and shook his head.

"Been better sir. We better be able to get things running from here, because I don't think I'm going up that many stairs like this."

"You'll get it, I got all the access codes- you have the uninfested genes. Together we make one regular person." They huddled up to the control panel of the door, which Swann had hooked back up after realizing he wasn't getting any farther trying to force the door open, and began the long process of turning off the electrical field and opening the door. Tychus turned away and stood at rest, rifle in hand. Eyes half-closed, he felt the empty husks of the infested and began to slowly shuffle them around on the athletic field; He had moved them there one by one and had been working on controlling multiple at the same time. Stetmann had noticed what he was doing and helped, too. Together they were moving husks of their former shipmates around the turf like chess pieces, and Tychus had to admit it had become frighteningly easy to command them, as Stetmann had observed.

The hiss of the door opening and happy wooping from Swann and Jayce only vaguely registered to Tychus, who remained in place.

"Alright girl, this is all you now. I ain't going in there- don't want to trip any other defenses, but I'll talk you through it."

"Yes sir. Oh, and sir?"

"Yeah hot stuff?"

"I better not be a Junior Mechanical Engineer anymore when this is over."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Warfield was sharpening the bayonet attached to the tip of his Gauss rifle, watching an infested man he brought to the mess hall to "operate". The worst was the gasping, gurgling and random spasms they seemed wracked by. Once he had set aside his moral hookups, he found it increasingly easier to manipulate the infested, as Stetmann had pointed out.

Stetmann was sitting in the lab, but his mind was elsewhere. He had noticed Tychus slowly but surely lining up two rows of infested on the field, and when he began to line up another row on the opposite side of the field it clicked for Stetmann, who was morbidly entertained. Unbeknownst to the others, and neither would ever mention it, the two engaged in a completely silly game of infested chess. Shlassa watched what everyone was doing, a silent third party. She had taken a very hands off approach after displeasing her Queen, and was content with not having received any further criticism on the matter.

Horner was on the bridge, looking across the room at an empty alcohol bottle and frowning. Flexing his hand slowly for a moment, he snapped his whole arm forwards in a quick gesture, eye on the bottle. From his hand erupted the bundle of thin tendrils that had been tucked away, stretching out morbidly and lashing around the bottle. Pausing, he felt the strange twisting of muscles he never had in his arm before flexing them hard and pulling the bottle to him in a lightning fast whipping motion. The bottle landed in his hand with a dull clunk. _You are doing this for Jayce._ He reminded himself, staring in disgust as his extra appendages unwrapped from the bottle and hid back in his arm.

His shambling "Queen" had put the "King" into a checkmate and Stetmann was victorious, but Tychus had given him a good run for his money- which he didn't think he would.

Tychus rolled his shoulders, having been standing rigid for a lengthy time. _Next time, egghead. _

Stetmann was about to reply, but he was pulled back to the lab with the mental equivalent of a hard jerk when the voice of the Adjutant startled him. "Egon Stetmann, Chief Science Adviser. Your equipment is ready."

"Adjutant! You have NO idea how much I missed you!" The Adjutant did not respond. Stetmann had already begun putting the samples he gathered from Warfield, Tychus and himself into analysis equipment and copying his notes into the digital logs for further study.

Swann and Jayce shared a high-five that jarred Jayces arm so hard she yelped and quickly dampened the celebration, but she recovered and they walked together, Swann swung an arm over her shoulders and remained in good spirits. "Good job girl. Hey meathead! Wake up, we're done here!" Tychus grunted and fell in step beside the two, looking down at them. "This mean I can finally use the sonics?"

"Oh _yes._ I almost forgot what it's like to be clean!" Touching her good hand to her grimy face, Jayce grimaced.

"Yeah that'll be nice." Swann muttered, a bit subdued. Nobody had seen the thick chitin that covered his body since he had covered it up with his suit, except for his hands. Being honest with himself, he didn't want to see it either. They took a lift up through the floors in celebration, much to Jayces relief.

Horner stood up quickly as the bridge sprang to life around him, he almost missed the star chart showing their current location- very, very far away from Char. Resting his hands on the main command console, he sighed in relief at the familiar feeling. "Adjutant. Put me on comms."

"Yes, Captain."

Taking a breath, Horner switched into captain mode, as natural as breathing for him. "Good work team. The Hyperion has some structural damage from the battle of Char, but I believe it is all repairable with what we have available. I am sending the information of each location to your data pads right now." He paused to tap a few keys, routing the data to all Engineer and Mechanic data pads on the ship. "Once the repairs are done, we will be able to leave- Kerrigan willing anyway." Disabling the comms, Horner pulled the star chart back up and tried to figure out just where they were and _maybe_ where the Swarm was bound.

Warfield smiled in relief, listening to the Captains voice over the comm and echoing through the ship. He took the data pad off of the infested mechanic he had been manipulating in preparation, though he paused when he was about to open a comm line to Swann, thinking twice about it.

_Good job Swann, tell Jayce I said so too. You just tell me where you need me to go and I'll get working. _They still needed to keep working on their psychic strength, comms or no comms, and nobody responded to argue about it.

Jayce thumbed her data pad and opened up a channel with Warfield, Horner and Stetmann. "Gentlemen. I know you want to get the ship up and running as soon as possible- so do I. However, I just thought you should know that the sonics are operational and that you smell. Badly."

"Thanks for that, Jayce." Horner was torn between being annoyed at the way he was being casually addressed and the desire to be clean, so he let it be.

"Good plan. Some normality wouldn't hurt." Warfield digressed, the idea of removing all the dried up bug junk on his body was awfully tempting.

"I'm not even sure if hygiene is a necessity for us anymore, Jayce." Stetmann commented offhandedly as he rifled through blood work he had done on himself.

"_Stetmann_." Jayce snapped at the younger man as she separated from Tychus and Swann, entering the woman's facilities.

"Alright! Yes, fine." Satisfied with Stetmann's surrender, Jayce closed the comm with him and began the adventure to get clean without messing up her cast. Tychus and Swann were similarly attempting to get clean without destroying everything.

Jim was floating in blissful nothingness, that all too rare dreamless sleep, when the voice that had haunted him for years whispered. _Jim_. This was not the usual start of his recurring nightmares, and he twitched at the thought of a new torment being unveiled.

_How does it feel, Jim? _Sweet poison, that's what Sarahs voice had come to sound like tainted by the Zerg. _It's time to wake up and play your part. You are mine, now and forever, until this galaxy is consumed in the coming storm._

When Jim Raynor's eyes opened, as solid black as the void with golden chips for pupils, all actions on the ship came to a halt. All except for Jayce, who looked in confusion at Swann when he wouldn't move his hand away from the ion torch she was using to weld a thick steel plate to a small hull breach.

The veil of sleep had been protecting him from the awful truth, but as he hung suspended inside his chrysalis and stared at the sickly green wall that contained him, he understood what had really happened. Bile rising, Raynor snapped the dried gray matter that was connected to his body and struck the transparent wall with his fists in a fury. When he spilled out of the chrysalis and into his room in a small shower of shards, he fell to his knees and vomited.

As Raynor was going through what each man already had, they all collectively snapped out of it when they could no longer hear him breaking out.

"Swann? What is going on?" Jayce had turned off the ion torch and was staring at him in concern. The last time someone lost control of their body around her she had almost been killed, and she just wasn't ready for the trauma of going through that again.

Blinking and swiping the back of his hand across his eyes, feigning tiredness, Swann croaked. "Commander is out, we better keep goin'." Resolutely, he returned to holding and adjusting the steel plate for Jayce, and with that reassurance she returned to welding it.

Tychus had been following guidelines Swann had written out for him on his data pad, using the infested to hold plates in place for him as he welded hull breaches and made minor repairs. When Jim woke, he only paused briefly. Better to get as far away from the Queen of Blades as possible before Jim got any new fool ideas.

Stetmann was in the lab with Warfield, analyzing the particles he had found being excreted by the Generals arm when the two of them and Shlassa shifted slightly, going rigid as they listened to Raynor.

Swallowing weakly, Stetmann muttered "This won't be good, General. Kerrigan was Jims _purpose_." His concern could not be masked even if he cared to try.

Taking a breath, Warfield refocused on the younger man and shook his head. "He's a tough son of a bitch. Lets not second guess him before he is up and moving, he needs to see we're managing this." Shlassa chuckled softly, but was ignored.

Horner was staring at the world arrayed in brilliant orange and green before him, and the swarm spread out into space as far as his eyes could see. The planet was not known to him, and the star chart indicated they were well out of the Koprulu sector. What Kerrigan could be doing here he had no idea. He was running a scan on the planets surface when he jerked slightly, treated to Jim's awakening. Shortly afterwards he stared down at the comm system thoughtfully, trying to find the right words.

Swiping his mouth with the back of his forearm, Jim paused and gulped a few ragged breaths. A set of clothes folded on his bed and the blinking light of a recorded message drew his eye. When he enabled the message with the swipe of a pale gray hand, fingers elongated by thick claws, he snorted in disbelief. "Shoulda guessed it'd be you, Stetmann. Lookin' pretty good, aren't you?" He questioned the babbling image of the scientist before shuffling to his arrayed clothing.

It took some work and no small amount of fabric ripping to fit into his old outfit, but he managed. Jim walked to the door of his room and paused, resting his hands on either side of the door frame and leaning forwards, pressing his face against the cold steel as he tried to sort his thoughts out. A numb disbelief had settled over him at a frightful pace.

_Jimmy_. Raynor hissed and partially stumbled out of his room. Pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead firmly, aware of small spines digging at the skin, as Tychus' voice struck his mind with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. _Go to the bridge._ It wasn't a request, but Jim was ready to say yes to anything to make the ache in his head stop just then.

"Jayce, listen. I need you to go to your room and just hang tight for a while, best not ask why." Swann had called a stop as soon as the plate they had been welding was properly bonded to the ship.

"Alright, sir. Be safe." Wary, Jayce didn't waste time making a bee-line for her room while Swann made his way to the bridge. Warfield and Stetmann had taken Tychus' announcement as their cue to head there as well.

Tychus was forcing this gathering sooner than Horner wanted, and as soon as the big man strode into the bridge he was snapping at him angrily. "Why are you doing this? What the hell could any one of us possibly say to make this any less screwed up?" Tychus regarded him evenly, taking a slow pull of a cigar he had managed to scavenge.

"Better to get the shock over with fast, kiddo." He gave Horner a half-cocked smirk when he was visibly riled by the jab. "Get the fist fights and accusations over with, then we can work on getting the hell outta here." Biting back a scathing reply, Horner had to privately admit it was not that bad an idea. They ruminated in the silence, surely the calm before the storm, waiting for the rest of their _unique_ crew to arrive.

As the bridge filled with uncomfortable fidgeting people, Jim took his time making his way. The Hyperion looked and sounded almost post-apocalyptic. There was no undertone of the crew at work or play under the humming and creaking of the ship, and it seemed at every other doorway or intersection there was signs of a fight or flight. Papers, spent bullets, clawed-at steel and dark blood stains were everywhere. When the doors of the bridge hissed open to reveal his old friends, most looking his way couldn't hold back visible winces. He wasn't sure what his own reaction to their varied appearances looked like, but it was not kind either.

Tychus whistled low. "Wow, Jimmy. Looks like your little girlfriend didn't like you so much after all." Nobody could argue with his statement. Jim had put his clothes on and looked like his old self in shape and stance, but that was about it. From his thighs, large spikes that went from the pale gray of his skin to a dark golden brown in color at the tips had torn through his pants and jutted outwards in a dense cluster. They couldn't see his back, but it was clear there was some long spikes jutting outwards from his shirt too. While his head retained its old familiar facial hair and haircut, ridges of small spines started just above his eyebrows and traveled into his hair where slightly longer spines stuck out in irregular intervals.

Jim felt sick all over again looking at the faces of his friends. Tychus' jab already forgotten, Jim swallowed hard at the lump in his throat and mumbled weakly. "I am so sorry."

"We're not done fighting, Commander, and we need you." Stetmann piped up, looking uncharacteristically determined.

"My boys didn't die on that molten rock for nothing, Raynor. This is not over yet, Kerrigan still has much to answer for." Warfield had adopted a stern look, arms crossed.

"We've hit rock bottom. Ain't nowhere to go but up now, Commander. Good people still need our help." Swann joined in, letting his misgivings rest for the time being like the others.

Horner had looked away, hands clasped behind his back and frowning as Tychus piped up. Flicking ash from his cigar off the leathery hide of his forearm, Tychus shook his head. "I told you my niche was here with you, brother, right to the end. Thought the end had come a while ago, but it seems we got something to fight for still, Jimmy. I ain't gone yet."

Jim was taken aback by the sincerity and conviction he found in the words of his men. As one, they all looked at Horner expectantly. Clearing his throat, Jim willed himself to sound stronger. "Matt?"

Sharply, Horner looked up from the floor and directly at Raynor. "You got us all killed, Jim." His features softened slightly then, and he took a breath. "But you were right. Kerrigan was the biggest threat to the galaxy before she beat us, and maybe even moreso now that no one is standing in her way. I'm with you."

Raynors black eyes, with their flinty chips of gold, regarded everyone evenly then. After a long thoughtful pause, it seemed as though a visible breath of life entered their Commander. "Captain."

Snapping to attention, Horner responded. "Yes Commander?"

"What is the status of my ship?"

"Few small repairs and she'll be ready to get off the Leviathan. Fuel is a concern, however."

"Swann."

"Commander?"

"Why are you in here when my ship needs repairs?"

"Alright hotshot, I'll go get to work. She'll be ready before the day is over." Swann was already moving out and Horner had returned to his console.

"Stetmann!"

"Sir?"

"Tell me you've been working on some way to reverse this?"

"Well, no. We only recently regained full power over the ship, the Adjutants protocols had to be undermined in order to-"

Raising his hand in a stopping gesture, Raynor looked decidedly bored. "Get to work."

"Yes sir!" Stetmann was about to step through the door as it hissed open, but paused beside Raynor when he remembered Jayce. "Oh, sir. You should know there is one uninfested survivor, named Jayce." He proceeded to leave before Raynor could formulate a response. Only Warfield, Tychus and Horner remained on the bridge with him. Looking at the two good fighting men, Raynor was thoughtful.

"We've been taking turns keeping watch on the survivor, and assisting with what repairs we can." Warfield offered. "Speaking of which, my turn for watch I believe. You should meet the girl sometime, Raynor. Remind yourself what you were fighting for in the first place." Jim stepped aside further for Warfield to walk out, giving a noncommittal grunt in response.

"Lets go for a walk, Jimmy. Got some catchin' up to do, I reckon." Tychus straightened up from the wall he had been leaning on and started walking. Jim certainly had questions, and he knew Tychus had been the first to get out of his chrysalis if him being first into the pool meant anything, so he followed along.

"Not quite like old times."

Tychus snorted. "No."

* * *

><p>Man, I feel like I landed flat on my face trying to describe Jim to you guys. Had a hell of a time taking that image in my head and putting it into words, hopefully I can redeem myself in time.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Raynor and Tychus walked out of the bridge quietly, refraining from talking until they had split off from Warfield who went to guard Jayce.

Raynor immediately thought about the survivor, not familiar with the name. "So, this survivor." Glancing at Tychus, he tried to get a bead on his old friends emotion. Tychus was inscrutable, snuffing the stump of his cigar between his fingertips and tossing it aside.

"Found her holed up in the armory, trying to use some Ghost suit to hide." He smirked in remembrance before sobering just as quick.

"Why didn't you kill her?" It sounded so wrong to say it, but Raynor knew his friend understood his train of thought. Better dead than Zerg.

"Thought about it, but since she wasn't infested she was useful. Needed her to get the Adjutant to stop blocking us from every little thing." Crossing his arms over his Gauss rifle, Tychus kept his eyes ahead.

"You know she's probably a puppet, right? There is no way Kerrigan would let someone conveniently survive without being under her thumb." Jims thoughts were immediately so much more grim when Kerrigan entered them, Tychus easily picked up on the shift in his friends demeanor though.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Adjutant didn't detect any Zerg infestation on her, good enough for me. Not like the Queen of Blades is going to kill us now anyway, Jimmy." Still, Tychus thought about his interactions with Jayce. A seed of doubt was planted. Up ahead the path had curved enough to obscure what lay beyond, but Tychus felt the idling infested crew member standing there and stopped walking.

"What is it?" Jim stopped with Tychus and looked wary, a spine on his thigh twitching until he firmly planted a hand on it without thinking.

"Listen Jim. Kerrigan didn't just kill everyone." Looking over and down at his friend, realization was clearly dawning on his face. "Most of the crew was infested. There's one ahead, just thought I'd let you know- wait Jimmy!" Raynor had already started striding forwards quickly and with purpose, even though he wasn't currently armed.

Breaking into a run as he rounded the bend, Tychus kept up behind him and decided to let it play out. When the hunched husk of a former crew member came into his line of sight, Jim charged. He had every intention of using his fists to put the man out of his misery, but without thought his right hand wrapped around a thick spine sticking out of his thigh and yanked hard- the spine jerked free of his skin with a snap.

Realizing what he had done only while he was in the process of doing it, Jim let out an angry shout as he made to throw the weighted spine. "Why didn't you kill them Tychus!" When the spine jammed into the steel wall a good foot away from the infested and he was completely certain it should have gone straight through an eye, he faltered.

_Cease your attempts, Terran. The infested are not to be harmed._ Shlassa addressed Jim, and everyone else by proxy, and he planted a palm to his forehead to try and quell the discomfort immediately.

"There's a damn broodmother on the ship, Jim. Can't kill the infested. Can't kill each other. You really think I wouldn't try?" Tychus stood beside Jim, watching his friend stare at the oblivious infested.

Hit by a surge of emotion, Jim smacked his fist into his thigh with a clack, the helplessness was maddening. "Why would she keep us, Tychus? What's her damn game?" Turning his head to look up at his friend, Tychus was regarding him evenly with his multiple pupil eyes.

"Do you remember Ezekiel Daun, Jimmy?"

"There are Zerg I fear less than that name, Tychus." Brows furrowing, Raynor focused on what his friend was saying, uncertain of the point.

"Some people are just the sickest sons of bitches and get their rocks off on tormenting the weak. Queeny is just miles and magnitudes more powerful than Ezekiel Daun could have ever dreamed of being."

Shoving past the infested angrily, the comparison stung him hard but it fit too. They resumed walking. "She wasn't like that, Tychus. Before all of this alien horseshit she was as good a person as you or me." Swallowing hard, his hand reflexively went to his pocket where he had kept her picture, now gone. "I put all my belief in her coming back."

Somber, Tychus focused on moving any infested that would be in their way out of sight. "Don't tear yourself up Jimmy." Tychus chuckled and elbowed his shoulder suddenly. "We aren't model citizens ourselves."

Horner had been pouring over all the data the ships limited scans could give on the planet adjacent to them before everyone had even left the bridge. What he found left him concerned, but confused. What could Kerrigan want with a planet that had what appeared to be uninfested Zerg? It's not like she didn't have an army big enough to crush any planet, or the whole damn sector, under her heel already.

"Adjutant, open the comms and forward this data to all Engineer and Mechanic data pads."

"Yes Captain."

"Gentlemen, and lady, I have forwarded you all the information I could get on the planet that the Swarm is currently in orbit over. I don't know what to make of it, maybe you can find something I missed." Closing the comms, Horner felt a small measure better. Someone will have an idea of whats going on, most likely Stetmann, and he can focus on ship diagnostics and prepping to get off the Leviathan. Even getting off the monstrous living ship was going to be difficult to maneuver, never mind the minefield of Zerg spread out around it, and the captain had every intention of being prepared.

Eager to depart for Zerus below, Kerrigan had been impatiently listening to the activities of Jim and his men since he woke. The moment Swann felt the satisfaction of a job well done, the ship being able to fly again, she struck.

An ominous pause happened on the Hyperion. Everyone, even Jayce, felt the approach of Kerrigans mind, poised to touch them. It was like standing helpless in a desert as a wall of sand rushed towards you, relentless. When they connected, Jayce yelled out in pain- much like she had when the Queen of Blades first boarded the ship. To everyone else, it was mentally taxing but the foreign thoughts of the Swarm no longer felt so strange, there was no more real pain.

_I see you have finished repairing the Hyperion. Good. You are to leave for a planet named Kaldir, in the Koprulu sector. There you will discover what happened to my broodmother, Nafash, and do whatever you have to in order to bring her brood back into the Swarm._

They were unable to respond, as if held in rapt attention, until Kerrigan broke their link with a sharp tug. She remained in contact with Shlassa, however.

_Shlassa. There is more I would tell you._

_Yes, my Queen?_

_Nafash was sent to Kaldir to force her brood to acclimate to the extreme temperatures there. It is vital we bring this strength to the Swarm, you will take whatever measures necessary to do this._

_And if the Terrans fight me, my Queen?_

_See that they don't. You are to safeguard them, do not fail me.  
><em>

_As you say._ Shlassa was left to plan, and Kerrigan was already leading a small portion of her forces to the surface of Zerus, eager to uncover its power. In tow was Zeratul subtly following in his Void Seeker, ready to impart advice to the Queen of Blades. Izsha would bring the Leviathan down to the planet's surface after the Hyperion departed from it.

Matt Horner jerked slightly as Kerrigan withdrew, taking a slow breath and gathering his thoughts. "Adjutant, set coordinates for the planet Kaldir. I want all information about the planet displayed, and the locations of all refueling stations along the way."

"Yes Captain."

With no small degree of distaste, Horner reached out to the others mentally. _Swann, Stetmann, Tychus, Warfield. Ready the infested, we're leaving this Leviathan._

_I didn't even tell anyone that she was ready to go!_ Swann was disgruntled. First he gets the job done like he said he would, then the Queen of Blades is barging into his head and pushing him around, nothing was right about it.

_Kerrigan seems to think we are, and I for one will be glad to see the ass-end of this Leviathan._

_I don't know much of anything about flying a ship this size, but I'll do what I can. _Tychus piped up, already guiding infested to their work stations. He and Stetmann were by far the most skilled with controlling them, if not by virtue of practice than by simply being awakened longer than the rest.

_Warfield and I are working together in the engine compartments. _Stetmann finally chimed in.

When the Hyperions vertical thrusters roared to life, any unfortunate Zerg below them were seared to death instantly. The ship groaned and trembled briefly before snapping free of the dried creep that had stabilized it on the Leviathan, and guiding it off of and away from the living ship and the millions of Zerg arrayed around it fell into Horners hands.

Jim had come back to the bridge alone to watch Matt work, his head throbbing from their mental communications. It disturbed him to _feel_ and know that the infested crew members were being ridden like meat suits by his friends, leaving him wondering why they were not fighting against it all. He privately questioned if Kerrigan wasn't in direct control of all of them, even if his conversation with Tychus had felt so sincere. What part of his mind _hadn't_ become privy to Kerrigan, if she wanted it?

Tensely, Horner called out. "Jim, get on that dash and keep an eye on the port side. Keep me posted on any obstacles you see."

"Uh." Roused from his thoughts, Jim complied absently. "Right. Try not to crash my ship, Captain."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Commander." Horner was maneuvering past clusters of Overlords and at one point a giant Leviathan tentacle nearly brushed into the ship, but when he realized he could bump Overlords out of the way without any adverse reactions their exodus from the Swarm became that much easier. Only when the Swarm was a cluster in the distance did they relax slightly. From here the Adjutant could steer towards their goal and all they had to do was keep the ship up and running with their limited resources.

_We are in the clear and en route to the planet Kaldir. Keep the infested at their posts though, we will want easy access to them should something go wrong._ Horner had closed his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows in concentration as he delivered his message, but Jims uncomfortable grunt brought his attention back quickly.

Jayce was in an Engineering hub, a small square room with walls of spare parts and cases upon cases of tools. In the center of the room a square table was arrayed for setting up smaller projects, which was where she sat on a simple stool. Tychus and Warfield were both present, Warfield keeping off to the side and looking at the datapad in his hands.

Tychus had laid his datapad flat on the table and was watching the small image of his infested self rotate while information rolled by. Stetmann had sent his test results to both Tychus and Warfield, and they were looking over it with morbid curiosity while Jayce was attempting to repair a fried coil with her left hand and watch the data Horner had sent to everyone about the planet they had just departed from.

Glancing from the small part she had been soldering to a recorded feed of what looked suspiciously like a Zergling feasting on another one, her voice came like a shout in the quiet. "Pause!" Immediately afterwards she hissed and dropped the soldering iron, aware her hand had moved awkwardly and ruined the job she had been so meticulously doing on the tiny circuits. "Damn it."

"What're you on about?" Tychus mumbled, not looking up from his little infested 3D model. Jayce had proven very stubborn about doing things herself, despite her arm, and had learned early to not intervene unless absolutely necessary.

Scrubbing the back of her hand across her eyes, Jayce gestured towards the video. "Look at that thing." Warfield was getting drawn to the conversation, looking up from his datapad with a stern expression.

"Looks like a Zerg eatin' another Zerg. What about it?" Tychus tilted his head, looking from the image to Jayce with a quirked brow.

Sighing as though he was truly dense, Jayce reached over and started to move the image frame by frame. Twisting to the side on her stool so her broken arm wouldn't be touched, she focused intensely on the image, certain of what she had seen. "There." Pausing the image of the Zergling just after it had consumed a chunk of flesh, she raised a long, calloused finger and pointed at its eyes.

"It has eyes, nice job."

"All those extra pupils in your dumb head and you still don't see what just happened there, Tychus?" He narrowed his eyes at the insult, looking hard at the image and trying to figure out what the hell the woman was getting at. Only then did he notice that her fingertip was actually pointing _beside_ the creatures eye, where a new eye had literally sprouted within the seconds it took to consume the other animal.

"It _changed_!" Jayce exclaimed, seeing the look of understanding pass Tychus' features.

"Changed? Care to explain?" Warfield had been watching, but drew no closer.

Jayce was already selecting the small section of the recording and forwarding it to Stetmann with a few notes, excited to have figured something out. "It took a bite out of that other Zergling and grew a new pair of eyes, General. If consuming and growing stronger isn't of interest to the Swarm, I don't know what is."

"That does sound right up Kerrigans alley, doesn't it. Good job." Warfield remained in place, looking down at his datapad with a sour expression.

"Yeah. Nice job detective." Jayce was already trying to fix the mess she made with her soldering iron again, and missed the particularly intense stare she was receiving from Tychus just then.

"Just want to help. I'm personally very happy to be away from the Swarm. I hope I can-"

"Escape soon?" Tychus had tilted his head, hands resting around the datapad that reminded him just how much he wasn't human anymore.

"W-well..." Startled, Jayce looked up at the two men then and felt fearful and ashamed. Both were looking at her in what she thought was bitterness. "I am sorry. It was unkind, but we all know I'm not safe by a long shot either."

"She's right Tychus. Can't go blaming her for our own situations." Warfield mumbled, trying to steer his thoughts to more positive grounds. It was difficult when a little datapad was telling you that you secreted paralytic venom from your brand new claws and could possibly fire off clouds of extreme hallucinogenic dust from porous locations on your skin.

"No." Tychus eyes gleamed in the dull overhead light, recalling his conversation with Jim. "Suppose I can't."

Over the planet Haven, where the former colonists of Agria who had declared themselves independent from the Dominion were now shaping their new home, the Dominion ship Bucephalus hung in low orbit. Prince Valerian Mengsk was listening intently to Dr. Ariel Hansen, who was at a communication tower below on the planets surface.

"While the people of Haven are sympathetic to the plight of the Terrans of the Koprulu sector, we are a free people and are not a part of the Dominion or any other unsavory faction, Prince Valerian. We can't house your refugees, not with the threat of Zerg infestation, and we _won't_ house your fleet- the Protoss are our neighbors and we have no desire to start any fires between them and us."

"I appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation with me, Dr. Hansen. Before you dismiss us completely however, please let me tell you of our situation." The loss at Char had burned the young man, but tempered him with new skills. He had been very careful to approach the people of Haven with as nonthreatening and diplomatic a stance as possible, given the reputation his last name automatically earned him. Finding them based off of offhand comments Jim, Tychus and Stetmann had made was hard enough as it was.

"I am listening."

"I know that Jim Raynor and his men helped your people in their time of need. But I don't know how much information you have about what happened to them after they left. Do your people know what is happening, and what has happened, in the Koprulu sector?"

"We do not currently have the faculties to be up to date on what has happened in the Koprulu sector since we left... But what happened to Jim?" Valerian saw the concern painted easily on the Doctors face as soon as Jim was mentioned. She was an open book as far as he was concerned.

"Jim Raynor and his Raiders were destroyed in the battle of Char, where he had attempted to use an alien device to neutralize the Queen of Blades and save the Koprulu sector from her and her Swarm."

Ariel took off her glasses and immediately dabbed at her eyes, stricken, while Valerian pushed on.

"I had taken command of my fathers entire Dominion Fleet in order to ensure Jim Raynors success against the Queen of Blades, in an attempt to save humanity. We failed. The Dominion Fleet has been crushed and my father, Arcturus Mengsk, has publicly denounced me as a traitor to humanity for weakening his precious core worlds." Watching his father put a bounty on his head hadn't hurt him as much as he thought it should, but Valerian wasn't sure it mattered anymore.

"And now you're what?" Sniffing and attempting to retain her composure, Ariel righted her glasses and focused on the Prince intensely. "Rebels, and bringing the Dominion down on helpless colonists?"

"No. I only sought you out recently. Precisely three days ago, the Hyperion's Adjutant came online. The ship had not been destroyed as I initially thought." A chill curled in his stomach at the thought, much like it had when the initial alert came in. Ariel looked to be experiencing similar.

"I sent drones to collect as much information as possible as soon as I found out. The time frame from there is fuzzy still, as the Swarm had moved from the Koprulu sector to an unknown planet. But what I do know is that the Hyperion is on the move and back in the Koprulu sector."

"The Zerg have infested the ship. There is no other explanation if it flew freely out of the center of the Swarm." Ariel stated pointedly.

"No. The ship has no outward signs of infestation and though there are infested signatures _on_ the ship, there are also multiple strong psionic waveforms. Seven, in fact."

"What are you saying? Is the ship being used to deliver infested safely behind enemy lines?"

"I am saying I believe Jim Raynor and his close friends are alive, Ms. Hansen. If anyone has earned an attempt to be saved it is that man and his men."

"How?" Valerian had to carefully control his reaction, smiling would be rude in this case.

"I read your file and what bits of information I could get about what happened to your people in the transition from Agria to Meinhoff and finally, Haven. You are a very gifted scientist, particularly when it comes to Zerg infestation. You may have also come into contact with the Xel'Naga artifact that the Raiders had pinned their hopes on."

While she privately questioned the resources of the Prince that he had this kind of information, given the Dominion completely abandoned her people, Ariel owed everything to Jim and his men. "You think what has been done to them can be reversed? Prince Valerian, I would actually need to be in the presence of an infested Jim Raynor and his men to even begin to understand what has been done to them, and if it could be undone. While we do have very extensive anti-infestation protocols and containment measures here on Haven, the people of Haven can't hope to stage an assault on a battleship manned by some of the most clever, and now infested, Terrans in the galaxy _and _capture them alive."

"Doctor Hansen, all I ask is your cooperation should I be successful in containing the threat and delivering it to you safely. The Bucephalus does however have refugees and refuel needs. If you are willing to consider saving Jim, I ask that you accept these displaced people and refuel the ship, nothing more. I do not wish to deliver more innocents into harms way, and that is where this ship is heading."

A brief pause was all Ariel needed to consider. "We owe everything to Raynor's Raiders. Our lives. Our home. Everything. You will have our full cooperation, Prince Valerian."

* * *

><p>*Rubs hands together* Alright! So a very busy chapter, lots of different things getting put into motion. Hopefully I can keep it consistent and coherent from here on out, see you soon!<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

The fleshy drop pods that contained Kerrigan and her entourage of Hunter Killers, advanced Hydralisks, came crashing through the canopy of Zerus and connected with the ground hard. The drop pods from the Leviathan took all the force of the fall and broke to pieces upon hitting the ground, delivering their cargo safely. Each rose from their small craters without pause, searching for any immediate threats to their Queen while emitting their low-pitched gurgling sighs.

Standing atop the small ridge created by her own drop pod, Kerrigan sent drones down to their same spot. Best to establish a foothold right away. The Queen of Blades listened then; What would normally be the sound of a lush rain forest filled with chirping birds, sighing winds and animal calls had an entirely different tune. There was roaring in the distance, crashing trees and trembling earth in every direction, even the plant life had a distinct and deadly Zerg tone. What didn't fit was the void of space nearby.

"Where's the welcoming committee?" Glancing off to her left, towards the void, she saw clearly the Dark Templars green eyes staring at her. "I can hear them all around. They will belong to me soon enough, but I also _feel_ something." Truly, there was a massive presence slumbering in the distance, like an inactive volcano in its size.

"What you feel is the Ancient One, Kerrigan." Zeratul offered, drawing no closer and keeping a good eye on the Hunter Killers that had formed a defensive perimeter around the Drone that had landed and immediately began morphing into a Lair. The rapidly growing structure was obscene, an abomination in his eyes, but there was nothing for it. The Zerg of Zerus would suffer for the sake of the prophecy.

"You must seek it out if you wish the true power of Zerus. The Primal Zerg here will fight you every step of the way, and you will be tested on your journey."

Planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head slightly, Kerrigans lips curled into a small smile. "I will visit the Ancient One. But first, there are a few loose ends here to take care of." Without warning, the long spine of a plant she had pulled out as Zeratul was speaking was hurled telekinetically at him. Had the Dark Templar not been fully suspicious of the Queen of Blades being treacherous, it would have pierced through his rib cage like butter. Zeratul knew better however, and though he delivered himself backwards towards his Void Seeker in a cloud of smoke, the plant spine had cut through the meat of his thigh in the process.

Injured, he could feel the venom of the plant seeping into the damaged tissue- threatening to weaken him further. Kerrigan had immediately charged after him and was searching, slicing through plant matter with her blades and claws angrily. Overlords were on their way, but too slow to reveal Zeratul and his ship to her.

"You'll not see me again, Kerrigan!" Zeratul called out to her, nimbly avoiding the swing of a blade with a quick duck and blinking himself to the safety of his ship with one final step through the shadows.

_Trust me. If I see you again, there will be no talking and you will accept your fate. _Unsure of where he was, Kerrigan called out psychically to him, making sure the message was delivered as his Void Seeker brushed through the trees and slipped into the sky silently. With any luck the venom from the plant would kill him, and the thought of such a small thing being the end of the old Protoss made her smile.

"HERE ME INTRUDERS! I AM BRAKK! THIS IS BRAKK'S TERRITORY! I CLAIM YOUR ESSENCE!"

"Well, there's the natives." Time officially being of the essence, Kerrigan returned to her blooming base and set to work. They would have to expand and defend until the Leviathan landed and all the Zerg aboard it became available.

The Hyperion was filled with a nervous energy. Leaving the swarm behind brought some comfort, but for how long? They were going to have to interact with other Terrans soon, there was no way to avoid it, and the idea collectively filled them with dread. Jayce wanted to leave and be safe again, but where really was safe for an injured wanted criminal?

The idea that any one of them could be taken over by the broodmother, maybe even Kerrigan still, at any time while they interacted with people was a dark cloud over the collective mood.

"Hey, nerd girl! Get up, we're going to the cantina." Twitching slightly in surprise at the boom in Tychus' voice when her door hissed open, Jayce set the nuts and bolts she had in her hand down on the table and turned in her seat to look at him with a quirked brow.

"We?"

"Yes, get moving. We're back in the Koprulu sector and Swann got the news feed hooked back up." News, now that was a troubling thought. Rising from her seat and resisting the fierce urge to itch at her cast, Jayce fell into step behind the armored behemoth of a man.

Struggling to keep up with his long strides without jostling the hell out of her arm, Jayce grit her teeth and mumbled. "Probably just gonna be the same old crap."

"We'll find out." Tychus rumbled. He wasn't convinced it wouldn't be a bunch of pro-Mengsk nonsense either, after all the slippery Emperor had plenty of time to repair his damaged public image and quell the rioting during the Raider's forced hiatus.

Inside the cantina, Horner, Raynor, Swann, Warfield and even Stetmann were congregating. They had spread out around the tables and were looking up at the news feed silently. The first thing both Jayce and Tychus noticed when entering the room was the different expressions each man wore. Disgust, confusion and disbelief were all very clear emotions on their faces. Tychus didn't bother asking, clearly the news was the source of all this discontent so he promptly sat down and looked. Jayce came to sit beside Tychus after briefly staring at Commander Raynor in shock, having not seen him yet.

"This is Donny Vermillion, back from my brief stint in the hospital. Thank you for all your well wishes, but today I have something important to tell you! Earlier today, Emperor Mengsk announced that the Zerg threat was over! Lets roll that clip!" Donny Vermillion was a news puppet for Mengsk, and it did not sit well that he was back on the show after Kate Lockwell had seemingly took over and attempted to pull the wool from the networks eyes.

"This has been broadcasting on repeat since I got it up and running." Swann muttered darkly. They had already seen the video, that only left Tychus and Jayce to catch up.

"People of Korhal, of the Koprulu sector! We have been struggling through hard times, all of us, and though there has been much speculation and fear mongering about whether I truly care about the people or not, today I bring you the best of news. You may sleep easy knowing that the Zerg threat has been ended. The Queen of Blades has been destroyed and the Zerg have fled from the Koprulu sector en masse!

General Warfield was sent to lead a daring assault on the Zerg home world of Char with the awe-inspiring might of the Dominion fleet at his command. Though the battle cost us dearly, they succeeded on that desolate ash world and freed us all from the looming threat of annihilation. I want you to look to the skies now and remember those that gave their lives to secure our future and know that I, your Emperor, truly care." Rolling by in small print on the TV, beneath the ever-smug face of Mengsk, was the words "Valerian Mengsk, disowned and wanted fugitive, where did he go?"

Tychus' mouth hung open ever so slightly, and Jayce was wide eyed and dumbfounded.

"_Don't _shoot the TV." Swann snapped, catching sight of Raynor half standing and ready to hurl a spine at the image of Mengsk. Thankfully, the TV was spared and he slowly lowered himself back down, attempting to calm his temper.

"I can't believe that Mengsk would sweep the entire failed invasion under the rug... Is that even possible? I thought we sent out waves, and the Bucephalus.." Stetmann was still staring up at the TV, which had been muted, in a kind of disgruntled awe.

"Wasn't long ago I thought Mengsk could do no wrong." Warfield was glaring down at his table, seething. "That rotten bastard has some serious connections, to be able to blind so many people so thoroughly."

"He's a damn snake, and he's going to get the entire human race exterminated if he honestly thinks Kerrigan ain't coming back to the Koprulu sector!" Raynor snapped, slamming his fist on the table angrily.

"I sure wish all those people who think the Zerg are gone could see my _face._" Tychus rumbled. He had a different kind of grudge against the Emperor, a very personal one after being locked in that suit.

"Who knows what happened to Valerian and the Bucephalus. News says he's an outlaw now, but who really knows? I find it hard to believe that he couldn't get word to anyone that the invasion had actually failed, that Kerrigan is still out there." Horner was standing, his arms crossed as he stared at the repeating message on the television thoughtfully.

Jayce kept her thoughts to herself, everyone was voicing what had already gone through her head anyway. Resting her left elbow on the table, she placed her head in her hand and closed her eyes, trying to fathom the situation- and wondering where it left her in the grand scheme of things.

"Whole damn thing stinks. Not like we can go fight Mengsk like this though. Hell, we _are_ the threat the to the human race right now." Swann was staring at his hands and their chitinous segments hatefully.

"Oh, ah, sir?" Stetmann was fidgeting, staring at Raynor and hoping to not get snapped at.

"What Stetmann?" Turning his gaze from the television to the young scientist, Raynor calmed down marginally. Stetmann didn't deserve his ire, and Raynor was more than willing to admit to himself that this situation was ultimately his own fault anyway.

"I brought a few tools and a scanner to run some tests on you. I know it's the last thing anyone wants to hear about, but we need to be ready for Kaldir and Swann and I have a few things in the works to help out." Stetmann had started pulling scanners and scrapers and clippers out of his lab coat pockets, placing them on the table in front of Raynor who sighed heavily.

"You're right, do whatever you gotta do."

Tychus' meaty hand planted on Jayce's shoulder, mindful of his nails, and gave her a cautious squeeze in reassurance as Stetmann started running tests on Raynor.

"I've been reading up on Kaldir. It is possibly the most inhospitable ice planet in the entire Koprulu sector. I'm not really sure what Kerrigan expects us to do there, our equipment isn't even capable of handling the kind of temperature drops that happen on the planets surface." Horner remarked, thinking about the task ahead.

"I suspect we're fully capable of adapting to the cold without our suits now, though it wont be pleasant." Stetmann remarked offhandedly as he withdrew blood from Raynor.

"I just got done bein' an ice cube. Don't fancy the idea of bein' one again." Tychus muttered darkly, staring at Stetmann as he worked.

"You'll live." It was all Raynor could offer, he was still trying to digest everything that was going on and had happened before he woke back up.

"Stetmann and I have been workin' on some stuff, like he said." Swann piped up, looking over everyone evenly. "He's workin' on a small scrambler that we can use to hide infested signatures. It'll be ready before we have to dock at a refueling station. Should be able to hide it on your person, and alternatively place them around rooms of the Hyperion to conceal what is inside them. Such as the Zerg monster in the laboratory, for example."

"That'll come in handy." Raynor remarked, impressed as always by the ingenuity of his team.

"That ain't all of it, but that's the big one hot shot." Swann drummed his fingertips against the tabletop slowly as his mind returned to more technical thought.

"I think the cantina will be a good place for us to gather." Stetmann was observing Raynor's off-colored blood in its little vial. "Shlassa is an unwelcome distraction in the lab, and now we have the news feed up and working. It will be a good base of operations for our small group." Nobody voiced any argument, most were quietly seething or already deep in thought.

"There is one other thing, Commander." Stetmann had already put the vial down and was running a hand-held scanner over Raynor's pale gray arm.

"What?"

"I can't work on reversing the infestation. Every time I start to think about undoing what has been done to us, it's like my thoughts enter a scrambler. Shlassa is actively making sure we can't make any headway on it."

"Shlassa?"

"That is the broodmother's name."

"First name basis, huh?"

Stetmann shrugged, he already got flack for it every time the broodmother became the topic of conversation, he was over it. "I think we should attempt to go to Haven when we've finished our task on Kaldir." Raynor had straightened slightly, his brows drawing together as he took in a breath to object, but Stetmann quickly interjected.

"Or. We try to send a message to Doctor Hansen at least, explaining the situation. I know it is not safe to interact with anyone, but we have to try. Figure out what we aren't restricted from." Visibly calming as he lowered back onto his stool, Raynor nodded.

"We are not going there, but a message is not out of the question."

"Great. I'll write one up later and-"

"No." Raynor raised his hand, so foreign in shape now with its natural thick armor, long claws and pale color. "I'll take care of it myself."

"Yes sir."

_Now all you need to do is practice, Jimmy._ Tychus was looking at Jim, speaking into his mind. His voice echoed and burned, all too similar to Kerrigan's intrusions, if moderately weaker in strength.

Raynor reached up quickly and planted the palm of his hand up against his temple and grit his teeth. "The hell are you on about, and why are you talkin' in my damn head Tychus?"

"No, he's right Jim. You need to get stronger with your mind." Stetmann quickly cut in before the two big men could get aggressive. "We have been trying to strengthen ourselves to be able to break free of the broodmother, and Kerrigan. We discovered that it was possible to fight when Shlassa took over Tychus" Stetmann nodded towards the big glowering figure of Tychus and Jayce, who was still sealed in place under his hand and arm. "and tried to kill Jayce through him."

Raynor looked at the pair and thought it odd she would get anywhere near Tychus after such a thing, but he snorted softly at the thought. Tychus had always had a way with the ladies. "I ain't so sure I want to strengthen any part of me that has to do with the Zerg."

"Most of us feel the same." Warfield, who had been content to observe and keep his own council, finally looked up from his table and spoke. "In fact, only thing we can really agree on is helping Jayce get out of here in one piece. I suspect you feel the same."

In truth, Raynor did not feel this need to save Jayce as they did, and he held her gaze with his now completely alien one as he spoke- communicating just how opposite he felt about it with his look. "Whatever it takes to keep us going, General."

Swann thumped the table with his hand abruptly, dispelling some of the tension. "Here here! Now you knuckleheads might not have anything to do, but I gotta get back to work." Straightening up and stretching slightly, Swann pulled a face as his armored body let off a series of clicks, chitin tapping against chitin, and made his way out of the cantina.

Taking in a slow breath, Horner nodded. "Yeah, best get back to work. Don't have too much fun, sir." Stetmann had just happened to glance up at Horner from Raynor, who was tolerating him pulling out one of the many fast-growing spines on his person, and froze. From the back of the good captain protruded the wing blades that belonged to Kerrigan, not him, and her burning eyes met his for a fraction of a second before it was over. Horner had turned away and walked out of the room without a second thought, and Stetmann did his best to recover from the brief shock without looking conspicuous. He wasn't sure what he really saw, or what could have caused it.

"Stetmann are you gonna pull this thing out or do you need a hand?" Raynor looked confused and somewhat uncomfortable with Stetmann standing there holding and only half pulling on a spine protruding from his thigh.

"Err no. Sorry sir." Blinking rapidly, Stetmann yanked the spine out quickly with a crunchy snap and started to hastily pack away all the samples he had gathered. "All done, thanks sir."

"Yeah, sure thing." Raynor mumbled, staring up at the muted television and resuming glaring at Mengsk. The spine was already growing back.

"Guess I better get back to work too." Jayce spoke to Tychus quietly, wishing she could just disappear behind him after the look the Commander had given her earlier. It was like looking into the dark abyss of space between the stars, but the abyss was her former leaders eyes and they were cold and unfriendly.

Taking the hint, Tychus removed his hand from her shoulder and gave her some space to get up. "Mastered being a lefty yet? All I've seen you doin' is makin' a bunch of messes so far, not workin'." He teased, sensing her unease and thinking the whole situation had been overwhelming. They had been taking pains to not talk about their more _eccentric _abilities, and manipulation of the infested in particular, in front of her until then.

"Not quite. Hopefully arm will heal up before then though." Grasping onto his friendly banter like a life raft, Jayce and Tychus made their way from the cantina. Warfield quietly stood up, nodding to those who remained, and followed after them.

As soon as the door of the cantina hissed shut behind the three of them, Warfield called out. "Jayce, you good to walk to your room alone for a minute?"

Not in the habit of saying no to people of higher rank, Jayce automatically responded with a quick "Yes sir." and kept walking as Tychus slowed to a stop, understanding the General wanted something.

As soon as Jayce was out of sight, Warfield addressed the issue immediately. "Tychus, I can't guard Jayce anymore. After those test results from the egghead came back, it's amazing something terrible hasn't happened to her already." The usually unflappable General looked drained, leaving Tychus frowning.

"I hardly think leaving her to be watched by someone who frequently has the desire to chase down and kill her is a good idea either. C'mon General, we _are_ the danger to her on this ship."

"Doesn't matter Tychus, she needs a damn guard and it's not like we sleep. You're gonna watch her yourself, because I ain't anymore." Warfield's voice had gone hard, done with Tychus attempting to subvert his decision. Without another word on it, he turned and left Tychus glowering by the cantina door.

When Warfield was well out of earshot, Tychus grumbled to himself. "Buncha pansies in here." Turning around he walked right back into the cantina and faced the curious look of Raynor, who had not moved from his seat. Stetmann had been just about to step through the door himself and deftly maneuvered around Tychus, heading back to his lab without a word.

"Problem, Tychus?"

"You could say that, partner." Tychus looked at him thoughtfully, making up his mind almost as fast as he had questioned himself. "The good General can't handle being around a little girl anymore, and you are gonna take up his shift. Think you can handle a double-team on the little lady, or is that too much for you?"

Raynor pulled a face at the innuendo. "Do you ever think about anything else, Tychus?"

"A good meal, on occasion. You know my motto. You got four hours before it's your turn to watch her, Jimmy." Tychus was smirking heavily as he left Jim staring at the cantina door, heading back to Jayce's room.

Horner was back on the bridge, looking through the information the Adjutant had put up on display for him. He'd have to choose a station for the Hyperion to refuel at before they arrived at Kaldir, there was no choice. One by one he withdrew stations that were too large or well used for his tastes, until all that remained were three hubs that could barely be called that.

From the remaining choices he selected the only one capable of hosting the Hyperion, and it would have been out of the question for a less skilled captain to pilot a ship the size of the Hyperion into such a small docking space; but if there was anything Matt Horner excelled at, it was piloting his ship. The Hyperion would dock at Station 837, a ramshackle space hut orbiting a dead moon, within 24 hours.

On the Bucephalus, no longer in orbit around the planet Haven but traveling back into the Koprulu sector, Prince Valerian was looking at the visual display of Dr. Narud.

"It is a shame that the Xel'Naga artifact was destroyed, Prince Valerian. It was a true work of art, older than the Protoss race even, I do not know if we are capable of replicating such a thing." The older scientists heavy accent forced the younger man to focus harder on what he was saying.

"All I request is that you devote your resources to trying, Dr. Narud. I have more agents working on other angles, it is my hope that someone will be able to come up with a solution to spare Jim Raynor and his men from their fate." Valerian had clasped his hands behind his back, sure to keep his appearance regal and most importantly, authoritative.

"Pardon my questioning, but what about the Queen of Blades? Surely, she is much more important than a few men who were unfortunately converted to her side?"

"There is no man in this galaxy who knows more about Kerrigan and her methods than Jim Raynor, and no men more experienced at fighting Zerg than those who were under his command. I do not believe we stand a chance against Kerrigan and her forces if Jim Raynor and his men remain on her side. There are other plans in motion however, Dr. Narud. I would not put all my hopes on one plan like that, not again."

"Well, that is good to know. Thank you for humoring me, Prince Valerian. I will return to work immediately, if that is all?"

"Yes, that is all." When the image of Dr. Narud dispersed, Valerian turned to look out into the stars. _Where are you, Kerrigan?_


	11. Chapter 11

Crouching low in the thick underbrush beneath a massive tree, reaching towards the sky and fighting for canopy space with all the rest, Kerrigan was watching a curious exchange.

"You tell the other pack leaders Brakk calls them! Corrupt Zerg are heading for the Ancient One! He must not be wakened!" The massive primal zerg who was speaking, clearly Brakk, was bellowing at a winged creature similar to the Mutalisks of her Swarm. Brakk himself looked nothing like the Zerg under her command, he had evolved beyond the size of an Ultralisk and was all thick armor and massive horns, spines and claws.

Smirking, Kerrigan watched the Mutalisk fly off with a chittering shriek and Brakk immediately charging off through the lush volcanic jungle towards his main base.

_My Queen, why did you not destroy Brakk and his messenger? They were alone and vulnerable._ Izsha had been watching through the eyes of the Hunter Killers that flanked Kerrigan and was clearly confused.

_They will come to us, and they will die. The combined might of the swarm is in orbit over this planet, Izsha._ It was neat, tidy and brutal. Kerrigan would take down all the strongest Zerg on the planet in one fell swoop.

_You will bring the Swarm down upon them when the are fully committed and unable to retreat. I understand now._ As soon as she understood, Izsha returned to managing and defending the bases that Kerrigan had established.

Hives, Lairs and the creep that was generated by them and their Queen guardians had already spread far, a cancer on the landscape. Kerrigan was left wondering where the resistance was until she took it upon herself to find out. Between Brakk's message and what information her tunneling Roaches had managed to gather, Zerus was firmly divided by pack leaders continually warring and devouring the weaker. How Zeratul thought these creatures would give her any trouble, she did not know.

Abathur had already begun collecting living and dead specimens of the primals and expressing his distaste for their chaotic natures. "Their evolution is wild. Chaotic. Swarm is methodical, with purpose. Perfect." Kerrigan shook her head slightly at the thought. Abathur was a curious relic of the Overmind's swarm, and far too useful to discard even if his methods were rigid.

The Ancient One was so close now. Kerrigan had been guided to its location like a moth to a flame, attracted by power. When one of her Mutalisks flew into an open and clearly well traveled area and she saw through its eyes a gaping chasm of a mouth in the ground, she frowned. Brakk was drawn to the Hives she had already established to the west, and had not gathered his pack close to the slumbering ancient to defend it like she thought he might.

As the Mutalisk flew over the mouth and surveyed the area, it became clear that the ridge above the ancient itself was an easily defendable foothold. It was just a matter of passing herself and a small force with a drone past Brakk's intensifying attacks. The strength of the primal zerg was not to be trifled with, and her front line had to be continually resupplied with heavier units- any one of the primals could take out several of her own zerg before being taken down.

_Zagara_.

_Yes my Queen? _Zagara, a Queen who had distinguished herself with her clever Nidus Worm trap against General Warfield on Char, had been charged with growing and defending every forward base Kerrigan started.

_Gather your troops and siege the choke point Brakk is defending to the east. I will be there._ Brakk had established a base of his own at a three-way intersection, well worn through the ages from the trampling of feet, and was continually bolstering it. Patrols of flying zerg over the nearly impenetrable forest made slipping an Overlord with a drone past not a viable option, the Mutalisk Kerrigan had managed to direct past them had already been ripped apart by glaive worms in the time it took her to address Zagara.

_For the swarm!_ Eager to conquer and consume, Zagara bolstered her forces for an assault while Kerrigan maneuvered through the jungle foliage with her Hunter Killers, yearning to join in the slaughter. Eggs with Mutalisks, Ultralisks and all other manner of Zerg were forming and erupting with their cargo at Zagara's coaxing, still dripping with ooze as they flew, charged and trampled towards their destination.

In Brakk's choke point base his pack was shrieking and roaring, ready to fight and feed. The coming of an assault could be felt and seen- the thick leaves and spines of the local foliage were shaking and swaying as the ground was pounded by hundreds of taloned feet, even the air was vibrating. Already they had learned that these new zerg, corrupted ones, did not have consumable essence; and though fear of Brakk himself consuming them kept them in line, it was the thought of the sleeping one rising that truly united them. Not even Brakk could stand against that ancient hungerer.

"They come. They come!" Slavering and digging at the ground with its feet, a massive primal zerg with four legs lead the charge as soon as the kaiser blades of an Ultralisk sliced through a tree in its sharp turn around a bend. Followed by their smaller peers, each creature entered a collision course for one another, eager to express dominance. The screaming, roaring and hissing coming from both sides was dampened momentarily by the loud fleshy crashing of bodies, immediately proceeded by death cries.

Supported by their base and its living defenses, combined with their naturally greater individual might, the tide of battle was quickly turning in the primal zergs favor and Zagara's forces were being forced backwards, despite the broodmother herself being there and mending the larger and more durable of her forces.

_My Queen, our forces are being overwhelmed!_ Zagara called to Kerrigan as she personally dashed a heavily armored primal Mutalisk from the sky.

_Hold your position! We are here._ The primal zerg had pushed the invading force back around the bend towards the hive they came from, exposing their flank to the northeast. It was from there, erupting from the forest, Kerrigan leaped forth with her Hunter Killers providing cover and a small cluster of Banelings the Queen of Blades herself spawned.

The leader of the primal zerg forces reeled at the surprise attack, turning on all fours to face Kerrigan and snarling. Though heavily injured- a severed kaiser blade was sticking out of its side and its armored flesh had been peppered with Hydralisk spines, it moved no slower. "You! Corrupt zerg! You die!" Snapping its jaws around a zergling that had been clawing at its foot, the zergling was dismembered in a clean bite right before three Banelings splashed into the great beast's side. The collective force of the primal zerg was being shredded from the side by the greatly evolved Hunter Killer spines and as their leader screamed in agony, his fleshy armor being melted off in a grotesque display, Kerrigan herself leaped forwards and sunk her blades deep into his sides.

"Push forwards, for the swarm! Feast in my name!" Rapidly punching through the reptile-like beast, Kerrigan made especially sure it was dead before joining in the push back to the primal base and crushing it.

_Thank you, my Queen. These Primal Zerg are not to be taken lightly._ Zagara was thoughtful, standing beside Kerrigan over the bloody weeping ruins of a primal zerg hive as their own drones laid the foundations of a swarm hive over it.

"You are one of my most clever broodmothers. You will learn from your experience and become stronger." Content that their current forces, bolstered by her Hunter Killers, could hold the point against further assaults from Brakk, Kerrigan looked to the north once more. "Secure this base, do not fall and do not give ground. Make sure the air is clear over the northeast forest as well, I have some cargo passing through." Smirking, Kerrigan personally directed the Overlord full of drones over the wild jungle towards the Ancient Ones resting place, and the ideal base location above it.

_As my Queen wishes. We will not fail you._

By herself, Kerrigan ran down the beaten path towards the clearing with the gaping maw of the ancient one and her soon-to-be blooming base above it. Everything was falling into place nicely, it was just a matter of wakening the beast and getting the information she needed now, and dealing with whatever the splintered pack leaders were going to throw at her.

Leaping over an incline and landing on her heeled foot, Kerrigan almost ran straight into a Quillgore pack. Going still, she silently observed the beasts cautiously passing a green pool that looked familiar to her. A Quillgore foal, unaware of the danger the adults were avoiding, ventured too close to the bubbling viscous fluid and was immediately grabbed and pulled under by a small primal zerg, disappearing in a splash and spooking the rest of the herd into a run deeper into the forest.

Creeping forwards, Kerrigan used the cover of sturdy bushes that had resisted trampling over the years, seeking to get a better look at the pool and its contents. Though the blood of the young Quillgore was seeping through the almost luminescent green fluid, it was clear there was only a small primal zergling hiding in it.

_Abathur._ Once she had drawn close enough, Kerrigan leaped forwards and brought her wing blades down with terrible efficiency upon the zergling, landing in the pool on her feet and with the lesser creature pinned under the liquid with her blades.

_Yes?_ Abathur was immediately there, looking through his queens eyes and taking in information.

_What is this pool? I feel... Stronger._ Kerrigan looked in wonder around her, she could feel the change in her flesh and bones.

_Primal spawning pool. Useful essence. Absorb and become stronger._ As if it was obvious, Abathur was gone as quick as he came.

"Hm." Leaving the corpse of the zergling and its prey to lay in the pool, Kerrigan turned back to the maw and walked towards it, thinking.

_My Queen. It will take much to awaken the sleeping ancient one, it must be fed._ Izsha had been observing the situation, keen to point out the obvious.

_I know. The Quillgore and fallen primal zerg we have killed will make fine food. My hive is ready above the ancient, Izsha. Take my drones and start feeding it._

_As my Queen wishes. The drones will be easy prey as they gather and bring meat to the ancient one, they must be protected._

_You leave that to me._ Standing on the jutting tip of earth that reached out above the maw, Kerrigan looked down into its depths thoughtfully. Nothing but teeth and death, the Primal Zerg could bring some very interesting variations into the swarm, but if this beast could be put to heel and made a part of it... It was unlikely, but the thought made her grin wickedly all the same.

A familiar bellow brought Kerrigan out of her reverie, along with the sound of trees being snapped like twigs. Slowly turning to look over her shoulder to the southeast, Kerrigan saw the fast-paced approach of what could only be Brakk.

"CORRUPTED ONE! YOU WILL NOT WAKE THE ANCIENT! YOU FACE BRAKK NOW! I WILL CONSUME YOUR ESSENCE!" It was only a few seconds before the bristling pack leader charged into sight, earth and plants flying from around his feet and off his horns as his many red eyes focused on Kerrigan. Curiously, he was devoid of reinforcements. A quick thought revealed Zagara was under heavy assault, but the broodmother was entrenched and not going anywhere. Seems Brakk thought to bring the invasion to a quick end.

"I'm glad we could have this... Meeting of leaders, Brakk." Smirking, Kerrigan sauntered off of the precipice and onto the field, readying for the inevitable assault as Brakk worked himself into a slathering rage.

If Brakk had attempted to respond, it was lost under the frothy snarl that sprayed saliva on the ground beneath him right before he charged.

_Izsha. _Leaping forwards in sync with Brakk, Kerrigan nimbly evaded the first SCV sized fist that carved trenches into the ground where she had stood.

_My Queen, do you want reinforcements?_

_No. Collect the corpses of the primal zerg and forget about the Quillgore. _The second fist swiped closer to Brakks body to protect his well armored belly and Kerrigan danced backwards to avoid it, landing on the back of his first fist with a clatter.

_As my Queen wishes. Be careful._

The agility of his prey was clear, and Brakk lunged his head forwards seeking to clamp his jaws around her armored torso. Kerrigan braced herself, crouching and grabbing hold of a spine jutting out of his forearm as she directed her wing blades with pinpoint accuracy. Brakk's momentum came to a jerking halt as blood sprayed out around the boney appendages that were embedded deeply into two of his many eyes.

"AHHHHH!" Reeling back in pain, the giant flew to his back feet and brought his hands to his face, Kerrigan momentarily forgotten as she dislodged her blades from his eyes and leaped away nimbly.

"YOU PAY! YOU PAY!" His screams were so loud Kerrigan could feel the air trembling at his anger. She was already poised to strike at his belly, but paused briefly to observe a curious change in her opponent. He seemed to _swell_ in his fury, both his armor and spines shifting to a darker color as some sort of unholy adrenaline coursed through him.

Wary of the change in her foe, Kerrigan ran back out of range of his grasp so as to attempt to discern what Brakk had in store for her. Black blood oozed from his eye sockets, but Brakk still had four more eyes to see with. Focusing on Kerrigan, he landed on his fours once more and made to charge at her again- his movement perceptibly faster. It seemed he did not learn from his mistakes, Kerrigan wondered how he managed to get to the top of the food chain to begin with.

Crouching low, Kerrigan prepared to leap and blind Brakk further. A moment before connection however, Brakks entire body twisted and Kerrigan was faced with being rolled over and impaled on hundreds of spines. Without a choice, she leaped into the air and focused a quick blast of energy from her clawed fingertips into Brakks underbelly as he tore up the ground where she was standing and rolled to his feet to give chase.

Caught on the run against a foe who was rapidly becoming stronger and faster by the second, Kerrigan observed Brakk swelling in rage once again. In a moment, she had caught sight of one flaw- his armor was not growing, only the fleshy muscles beneath were swelling and so the plates were separating to reveal gaps. Narrowly avoiding having her own wings cut off by a massive blade that made a new furrow in the ground, Kerrigan lead him towards the maw of the beast in rising desperation.

"Yes. I will feed you to him. Your weakness is poison." Brakk hissed in pleasure as he thundered after her, ready to make the kill as she ran up the jutting outcropping of stone that overlooked the ancient ones maw.

Brakk was already a very heavy creature, and his new increase in volume only exacerbated it. Kerrigan looked down into the maw of the sleeping beast and at the rock under her feet and sincerely hoped for the best. Brakk was already charging up the small incline, his head forwards in an attempt to shove her off with his massive tri horns.

Poised to leap once more, Kerrigan grinned at her attacker. "I did not come to lead the swarm through weakness, Brakk." She yearned to monologue further, to taunt him, but he was already well within striking range and it was time for her to make her own counterattack. Putting all her strength into the thrust, she leaped outwards and over the gaping maw leaving Brakk grasping at the stone beneath his feet to recover and not fall in himself. He was too busy watching Kerrigan, hoping dearly she would fall in, that he did not notice the stone beneath him giving way to his girth.

Arms flailing out in alarm as she realized she was not going to land at the edge of the mouth like she had planned, Kerrigan slammed against the sheer earth with a grunt and immediately began scrabbling for purchase with her claws.

"Hah. Hah. Hah." Brakk gave off a raspy laugh as he watched her struggling, grinning as best he could. His merriment was short lived the moment he realized he had begun falling himself.

"No! NO! Brakk will not die like this!" Backpedaling across the crumbling stone, Brakk turned around and made a reach for the solid edge but missed it horribly. Kerrigan was scaling the stone with her wing blades and claws, digging in with her claws and then pulling herself up farther with the blades, watching over her shoulder as Brakk began his descent- he could not climb.

Squealing in terror, Brakk was furiously digging at the fleshy and toothy walls he was sliding down but only damaging himself on the massive razor teeth. As soon as his black blood began to drip down into the gullet below, it came to life. Kerrigan drew herself up onto the ledge and watched in grim fascination as the inside of the maw spasmed, tendrils erupting from the flesh and seeking out Brakk as he writhed. As soon as Brakks flailing hind legs had been thoroughly wrapped up, he was ripped from his position and pulled into the dark below with one final scream. A sick crunch and eruption of blood sprayed upwards and coated the massive needle-like teeth at the base of the maw.

Kerrigan was poised to watch more- to make sure Brakk was truly dead, but the ground rocking beneath her feet and a tremendous groan reverberating through the earth had her leaping to further safety and far enough away that she could avoid any immediate threats the waking ancient may offer.

From afar, Kerrigan watched a head and what appeared to be its hands erupt from the ground, spraying earth and rock in all directions. Many eyes, each the size of the Queen of Blades herself, blinked into focus and looked towards her as the creature settled into wakefulness.

"I am awake." Its voice, clearly male, reverberated through the area although it was low-pitched enough that it was perhaps just a whisper. "You are the one who has roused me? You seek something." It was not a question. No one would awaken him for nothing less than the pursuit of power.

"I am Kerrigan, Queen of the Swarm, and I have awakened you to help me seek the power of this planet. What is your name?" Standing tall, although no higher than one of the creatures nails, Kerrigan focused her psionic might until it trailed off her body in a visual display of personal power. A classic tactic, Kerrigan sought to deter him from attacking early, there would be no weakness detected.

"Zurvan. As old as the race of primal zerg themselves. I can lead you to the power of Zerus, but can you grasp it?" Questioning, Zurvans many eyes scrutinized the Queen of Blades, curious. "You come from the stars. Corrupted zerg return to their birthplace, full circle."

Baring her teeth at the challenge, Kerrigan visibly bristled and snapped. "I have dominated every life form in this galaxy. Zerus will kneel before me or it will lay broken at my feet!"

A soft chuckle, deep enough to shake the ground she stood on, reverberated from Zurvan. "So be it."

_Izsha. Direct the drones to other activities. Zurvan is awake._ She hardly needed to say it, it was doubtful a soul on or above Zerus did not sense Zurvan waking.

Aboard the Hyperion, Stetmann was frantically rushing through the halls above the Laboratory and staring at the diagram on his data pad with the overlay he had put over it, attempting to discern where he needed to place the scrambler to complete the cube-like field that would hide the broodmother sitting in his Laboratory from scanners.

_You can do quantum equations in your sleep but you can't read a map, kid?_ Swann's voice was scathing and the young scientists shoulders drooped. Stetmann and Swann had spent the lions share of their time together coordinating mentally and the fruit of their labor had been the realization they could operate through one another with a mere thought, making sharing ideas and helping one another a much easier process. Swann was looking through his eyes now, and a strange surreal feeling came over Stetmann as the mechanic deftly took over his body functions- leaving him an observer in his own body.

"Eh. Alright now. Watch closely cause I hate repeatin' myself kid." It would look extremely odd seeing Stetmann standing there talking to himself, thankfully he was physically alone but more than a few times Jayce had been the confused observer of some of their interactions. Orienting himself, Stetmann was turned left to right while looking down at the map.

"You almost had it. Needed to go around this corner and you were right there kid." Walking quickly, Swann brought Stetmann to where he needed to be and stuck the scrambler to the wall, activating it with precision and promptly leaving Stetmann's body with a jolt. Reeling and almost dropping his data pad, Stetmann caught it and shook his head as the haze wore off quickly.

_Captain, all scramblers are in place and the Hyperion is ready to approach Station 837._ Briskly walking towards the bridge where everyone would be congregating to watch events unfold, Stetmann felt his nerves buzzing. So many what-ifs were running through his mind; what if the scrambler didn't work as they thought it would and the ship was attacked? They could be captured and would surely become test subjects in some hidden lab, subjected to horrendous experiments for the rest of their existence- and as far as he could tell they would never die of old age, just like all zerg. Stetmann struggled to keep a grip on himself all the way there.

"Are you sure you're good to do this?" Horner was scrutinizing Jayce, who looked harried and unwell. They had gone over what she needed to do many times already, and if the tick at the corner of her eye was any indication- she was getting tired of the second guessing of her abilities.

"Captain. I've been good to do this since the first time you asked me that question sixteen times ago. I am capable." Everyone was watching their exchange with a mix of quiet amusement and concern, but there was no choice. Jayce would have to be their voice, it was too dangerous to go in there themselves. No one was confident that they could defeat Shlassa in a mental battle yet, so they put their hopes on someone who could just as easily point out the ship is full of zerg and try to get them killed.

Raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, Horner looked away from Jayce. "Fine, you're right." Looking at Raynor, Warfield, Tychus and the just arriving Stetmann, Horner snapped. "Stay and watch as much as you want, but for god sakes get out of sight." They barely had time to jump away from the command console when Horner hailed the station and its controller, an angry looking older man with beady eyes, popped up.

"This is Station 837. Hello, Hyperion. Never thought Raynor's Raiders would pass through here." A palpable tension rose through the bridge. The station knowing the name of the ship and its contents was not a surprise, but what the controller chose to do with that information next is what raised concern. For their part, Horner and Jayce were standing beside one another calm and collected.

"Hello Station 837. Don't suppose you care much for Mengsk, do you? Our credits are as good as anyone elses either way." Horner smiled easy, negotiations were a familiar drill for the captain.

"Only thing old Mengsk did for us was send us to the ass-end of the sector. You and your boys are welcome here, 'n so are your credits." The wiley old man gave them a crooked smile, all yellow teeth. "If you can fit that ship in here I'll be surprised though." He added in afterthought.

"You leave that to me. My companion will be coming aboard the station for the transaction after we dock." Horner tilted his head to indicate Jayce, who smiled and nodded politely.

The controller couldn't hide his disappointment, his lips curling downwards slightly. "Alright. Sure would be great to meet Jim Raynor though, man's a legend."

"He's preoccupied at the moment sir, else he would be glad to meet you." Jim quietly rolled his eyes while standing between Warfield and Tychus, all three looked bored.

"As you say. See you folks on the station then." With a click, the comms were closed and everyone breathed easier.

"Man's a legend, hah. If only they knew you back when, Jimmy." Tychus grinned.

Warfield was more focused on business, eager to depart before they had even arrived. "You be careful on that rig girl," pointing towards Jayce with a clawed fingertip, he looked especially severe. "doubt those poor bastards have even seen a woman in months."

"He's right." Tychus conceded, crossing his arms and nodding slightly.

"Quit second guessing her and lets get this over with!" Raynor snapped, pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning on and beginning to pace around like a caged beast.

Jayce gave the firearm she had strapped to her left leg, hoping to give the illusion of her being a lefty, a firm pat as she stepped away from the command console to let Horner do his work in peace. "I've survived fine so far, gentlemen. I think I can deal with a bunch of horny men in space, thank you." Tychus had a feeling he was being pointedly looked at, frowning slightly.

"Be quiet, all of you, or I will personally boot your asses off my bridge." Horner was guiding the ship to the docking station and he was getting swiftly agitated by their talk. "Unless you can steer this ship yourselves, of course." The silence that greeted him was pleasing.

* * *

><p>Whew! Okay friends, it's been a while but you can probably expect updates to stay around this pace when there's this much going on. I decided to cut this chapter short, originally I had planned to put the whole Station 837 fun in here too but I realized this was going to turn into a brick to read, so that is up next! Hope you're enjoying yourselves and December is treating you well. :)<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Station 837, due to its remote location, had a much more defense-minded platform design. Ships were to land inside large square docking bays that opened from the top and could be sealed shut to defend their cargo, or to trap it. The entire station was a floating safe.

Matt lowered the Hyperion into the largest bay as delicate as a butterfly, with only feet of wiggle room to spare. With the expressions on their faces in clear view as they watched him work, Matt could all but feel his companions insides clenching when the Hyperion swayed dangerously towards a wall before he made the slight adjustment necessary to avoid collision. It was the work of a few minutes but it felt like an hour before they felt the ship groan and shift as it settled on its landing gear.

"I was happier when I didn't get to see the spaces we landed in!" Jayce exclaimed nervously as she strode towards the exit, followed closely by Stetmann.

"That's why I'm the captain." Horner smirked at the remaining men in his company, smug.

"Don't I know it." Raynor smiled slightly, appreciating the mood lightener.

Walking down the hall together towards the lift that had been connected to the station, Jayce glanced at Stetmann before questioning thoughtfully. "Doc. Where'd Swann go?" Indeed, Swann was not present during their little gathering and it left Jayce curious.

"Swann? Oh, ah." Stetmann fell behind slightly as they passed through a hissing door, letting her go first. "He's fine, but he's in the Lab until we leave the station. We couldn't find enough flow intensifiers for the last scrambler, so he isn't wearing one for now."

"Oh." Perking up visibly, Jayce shifted her data pad to be pinched between her cast and chest so her good arm was free, they were almost at the lift. "Should have asked me! Small parts inventory was one of my duties, I'm sure I can find a pile of them once we're done here."

"Yeah, about that actually." Stetmann wavered as they walked up to the lift, Jayce took her place at the center and leveled a questioning look at him.

"What about it?"

Quickly, Stetmann held up an innocuous badge that showed the Hyperion's logo on it, offering it. "Look, the commander wants you to wear this so we can keep track of you while you are down there. I don't think you'll do anything, personally!" It became clear that he was simply nervous and Jayce smiled, Stetmanns manner had always been endearing to his female co-workers.

"Clip it on quick, I can't do it with one hand." Smirking, she enjoyed the poor mans stammering as he clumsily pinned it to the side of her arm after her hand quickly redirected his path from her chest.

Collecting himself, Stetmann stepped back to stand by the lift console and focused his gaze on Jayce as he gripped the lever firmly. "You could stay there, you know. Doesn't seem like there's anything stopping you. Just a thought." His voice had lowered slightly, conspiratorial. Jayce gave him a noncommittal shrug.

"We'll see doc. In the meantime, pull the lever. I got a date and don't want to be late." Smiling and winking, Jayce thoughtfully watched the scientist as he pulled the lever and the platform she was on lurched downwards through the long shaft that linked the ship to the station and kept the atmosphere of space at bay. It was a long way down through the dark.

As soon as she felt the lift touch ground the doors in front of her snapped open, the bright light of the bay leaving her blinking owlishly and stepping off the lift into unfamiliar territory. With a note of finality the door closed behind her immediately and the subtle hiss of the lift leaving came shortly after. Adjusting the data pad resting on her arm, Jayce took in the sights. Three men were there in front of her, dressed in the Station 837 standard brown work suit, and each looking up from their given tasks with mild curiosity.

The bay that the Hyperion was resting atop of was mostly empty, wide open with tidy rows of racks for cargo to be placed. While there was generous amounts of rust and signs of wear and tear, it seemed at a glance that the controller for the station ran a tight ship, which was nice.

Focusing on her silent hosts, Jayce tilted her head slightly. "Are you the welcoming committee?" Before anyone could answer, she barged on. "I'll need to see the controller about our transaction. Ship needs refueling and a round of rations, so two of you get on that and one of you bring me to your boss." Jayces attempt at being authoritative seemed to fall short, as she was rewarded with a few smirks and chuckles in response.

"Right." A thickly muscled man with a clean shaven face and head spoke up, stepping away from the console that he had used to raise the shaft that connected to the Hyperion and towards her. "Boss said we were going to have a little lady visiting us, allow me to give you our hospitality." He was grinning and the other men were smirking and smiling, all mirthful. Jayce did not feel overly threatened, it was a display she was well accustomed to, and so took a step forwards of her own accord towards the man who had spoken.

"Right, lets go cowboy." His eyebrows quirked up in surprise for a moment before he made an expansive gesture for her to follow. The other two men, sensing the fun was over before it began, turned away to get on the tasks assigned to them, Jayce assumed.

Aboard the Hyperion, all four men were watching the display playing out on the console, and hearing every word of it. Going rigid and leaning forwards slightly, four pairs of hands rested on all the decorative sides of the machine as each man looked at one another and to the three who were posturing towards their chosen ambassador.

"If we go down there to save her from whatever trouble she gets into, this station will go on lock down faster than you can skewer them." Horner's tone was dire as he straightened and crossed his arms, but before they could discuss any action to be taken Jayce had already taken the situation by the horns.

"Girls got spunk, gotta hand that to her." Warfield remarked, expressing the impressed feeling that each man was displaying.

"Not out of the woods yet, General." Raynor had quickly returned to a neutral expression, privately scrutinizing every move Jayce made and word she spoke like he had been the moment he first saw her. If anyone would recognize Kerrigan acting through a puppet, it would be him.

"Looks like they got the fuel truck going." Horner remarked, looking at a small diagnostic he had kept running on the corner of the console. "I need to go make sure we get hooked up with it properly. Don't do anything rash, _please_." Giving each man a pointed look before he left, Horner set off.

"How many of you boys do they have working this joint? Can't be more than a skeleton crew in a place this remote." Jayce remarked offhandedly, walking beside her quiet escort. He had taken on a grim countenance, the poor lighting casting deep shadows on his face.

"Hundred tops. Not my job to count, though." His lip quirked up slightly, Jayce missing the gesture.

"Right. Names Jayce, by the way." Content to make some small talk, Jayce felt more secure now than she had since this entire zerg misadventure began, even with the questionable company. At least shooting them would _work_.

"Markus." He seemed content to let the conversation land on its face, leaving Jayce trying desperately to think of something else to say. The longer they walked in silence though, the more wrong everything felt.

On the bridge, everyone was watching with rising concern. Raynor pulled up a small schematic of the station out of curiosity and checked to see where Jayce and her escort were, lips pulling into a tight frown.

"They aren't heading to the controllers office. He's takin' her to the ass end of the station." Warfield and Tychus were looking at Raynor then, features tight.

"Before you say anything." Jim interjected quickly, heading off any arguments. "I'm not just going to leave her there if shit hits the fan, which is looking like it's about to. But we're not going down there unless we absolutely have to. Understood?"

"You're right. No need for the cavalry unless absolutely necessary, given the current situation." Warfield nodded slightly, grimly watching the 3d image of Jayce and this Markus.

"Oh I sure hope the cavalry does get to go, partner." Tychus was watching the image too, looking all too hungry for a fight.

Huffing slightly, Raynor waved them off. "Move to the side, we're makin' a call." Quickly, he tapped a few keys and sent a wave to the controller, stepping out of view just before the man's severe face popped up.

"Yes, Hyperion?" He seemed confused, no image of the person who called him appearing.

"Yeah, 837, we got a problem." Jim spoke smoothly and with authority.

"Jim Raynor? Pleasure to speak with you, though I can't help but wonder why you aren't actually there?"

"Preoccupied right now, but you've got a situation that needs attention. One of your boys is leading my girl into the ass-end of your station instead of to your place to make our transaction. You need to get a leash on him and get this under control before it goes bad." Even as Raynor was speaking, Jayce had gleaned that the man beside her really wasn't some maintenance worker. He was walking with the stride of a man who was used to killing, predatory. It was something she had become used to seeing as of late.

"Sorry Raynor, can't do that. These men are at the edge as it is, if I go taking away their fun- they are gonna take away my life." He both looked and sounded bitter, as if Jayce being fed to his wolves was some unfortunate, distasteful circumstance.

"Are you for real?" Jim was stunned at the mans incompetence. "So you can't even control what few men you have, and you are also so cowardly you don't even warn us to send someone more physically capable than a half-disabled woman?" Struggling to keep from yelling, Raynor clenched his fists and forced himself to breath before continuing. The controller was silent, lips pursed in anger.

Horner had arrived at the section of the massive ship that contained the lion share of the fuel tanks, where the fuel truck should have connected already. His eyes narrowed in suspicion when no such thing had happened, and the fuel truck had not moved from where it's driver had initially placed it. Keeping abreast of what was going on with Jayce, Horner made a quick decision.

"Listen. We're not going to let one of our own get messed up by your rabid dogs, and if we have to come down there to fix this ourselves you're gonna have a few less men and a few more bodies to take care of. Your choice." There it was, Raynor had laid down the ultimatum. The controller had other ideas though, as far as he could see he held all the cards.

"Actually, Mr. Raynor, you will remain on your ship. When my boys are finished your girl will complete the transaction, all of your credits by the way, and then you may take your ship and limp out of here like the sack of sorry shit you and your Raiders are. You might want to thank me for not just locking you in here until Mengsk can come get his hands on you personally, in fact." Bristling, the controllers angry look mutated into smug pleasure: the Hyperion and it's crew were at his mercy, and so easily. "Oh. And she stays with us."

"Listen here you piece of-" Raynor was promptly cut off, the image of the controller disappearing and Jayces transmission resuming. "Son of a bitch!" Looking sharply at Warfield and Tychus, one who was poised and grimly ready while the other was almost grinning savagely. "Get moving!" There was a flurry of motion- guns being readied and feet hitting the ground running, as the three ran towards the lift.

"How much longer until we get there?" Jayce questioned, trying to keep the suspicion out of her voice.

"Almost there." Markus looked increasingly agitated, and Jayce subtly made distance between herself and him as they walked, thinking hard. Her hand had drifted towards her gun before she thought better of the action, it would be a very easy disarm- even she knew that. When a small bathroom hub came into view on her side of the hall, she swallowed hard and tried not to look relieved- it was a plan at least.

Warfield had brought his data pad with him so they could track Jayce and continue to watch and hear the feed. They were going down the lift, pale light of the hologram illuminating them as they watched it, when Warfield murmured. "No no, don't do that girl." Tensing as he saw the subtle shift towards her gun, Warfield relaxed just as quick when she clearly thought better of it. "Good."

As the woman's bathroom came up on her right, Jayce had drifted just far enough away from Markus so that her movement would set the door to open. Though he had been paying attention to her drifting, he hadn't thought much of it- at best she could try to run or pull her gun and neither would work well for her. When the woman's bathroom door hissed open and she leaped into it, realization struck him hard and fast- he dove after her but collided with the door hard as it closed in his face. It would not open for a man.

Leaping into the bathroom so the door wouldn't automatically open at her proximity, Jayce jumped fearfully when Markus pounded on the door and cursed loudly. Stressed beyond belief, Jayce yelled and gave a stall door a halfhearted kick with each word. "Kiss. My. Ass!" Taking a breath and closing her eyes, she leaned against the stall and cradled her throbbing arm, speaking softly into the one-way pin on her sleeve. "I know staying here and taking whatever shit comes at me might very well be the best thing, but I'll tell you right now- I'm a Raider, always have been and always will be, even if you don't trust me Commander."

Sullen, she faced away from the banging door and thought about what that Protoss said with new clarity. "You helped me when I had nothing, saved me, and I believed in your cause. I'm not gonna leave you to rot if I can help it, not a chance. So, please, lets get the hell outta here."

"Just gotta save you again, of course." Raynor grumbled as the lift hit the ground.

"Thought that was your thing, Jimmy." Tychus mocked as the three of them strode through the door, weapons raised.

"Who knows how long we got, better make this real fast. You go find the girl, I'll guard the lift." Tossing his datapad to Tychus, Warfield took up a defensive position near the door and its console- he wasn't about to let them lose the only link they had to the Hyperion.

As they ran through the empty halls towards where Jayce was trapped, Raynor concentrated his thoughts. It was distasteful, but he could not argue against the usefulness of mental communication- especially when they were liable to be listened in on.

_Stetmann._

_Commander?_

_I'm sure you've been watching the feed. We're on the Station and I need you to get on that fuel truck and have us ready to go by the time we're back._

_Sir, I've never operated a fuel truck!_

Swann, who had been alternating between looking at the holding container for the sparking Protoss crystal formation, watching the feed of Jayce, and very pointedly ignoring Shlassa on the other end of the room, made himself known.

_I'll help with it, just get your ass down there pronto._

_Good man._ Raynor jerked slightly as he brought the mental conversation to a close, leaving Stetmann to scramble for the lift as Tychus and Raynor closed in on Jayce and her attacker.

Elsewhere on the station, the controller was sitting back in a comfortable chair- waiting for his call to Emperor Mengsk to go through. Anyone who had a grip on the Hyperion and its contents was privy to a direct line to their greatest antagonist. His communication room was dingy and full of cigar smoke, one of which he had lit up in celebration. An old plaque, which had been repurposed as a paperweight, read "Lark" in worn white lettering on a black background, and he smirked at it. "You clever son of a bitch." When the door to his room hissed open, he straightened up and turned to look towards the intrusion angrily. "What the hell do you want?" His voice died off as he saw the ever crisp looking captain of the Hyperion looking at him direly, one hand casually pulling off a glove.

"Never cared much for men with no integrity." Horner sounded calm, even looked it, but there was something sinister behind the simple gesture of removing his gloves and pocketing them. Before he could take a step further however, the familiar face of Mengsk appeared on the large screen in front of Lark.

"You said you are in possession of the Hyperion and its- ah. Hello _captain_." Ever superior and smug, Mengsk gave Horner a very pointed look over. "I see Kerrigan has treated you well."

"Kerrigan?" Lark, the poor bastard, whispered in confusion. He had been reaching for his firearm but held still then.

Shlassa, who had for the most part remained completely unobtrusive until now, bristled and went rigid. Swann heard the chitinous clacking and turned sharply, feeling a chill run up his spine looking at the broodmother. Something was terribly wrong.

"You have no idea what is going on, do you Terran?" Though busy, Shlassa took the time to verbally mock Swann, confirming his feelings of wrongness.

In the time it took to blink, Horners entire demeanor changed. When his eyes opened they held a dull orange glow, which Lark had failed to notice as he was staring at his Emperor. Stepping forwards and smiling a fraction too widely, Horner firmly planted his hand on the back of Larks neck. Alarmed and offended, the man made to stand up but found himself unable to move, such was the strength behind the hand.

"Oh Kerrigan treated us all very well, Mengsk." The Emperor glanced at Lark with feigned sympathy before focusing on Horner.

"Kerrigan? You'd do well to keep away from me and the Koprulu sector. That includes your new pets." Mengsks suspicion was confirmed when Horner let out a light laugh- one that did not belong to him in the slightest.

"Remember when I told you I'd let you live just so I could watch your Empire burn down around you, Mengsk?" Horners grip on the mans neck perceptibly tightened, Lark letting out a pained groan. "I have decided I want a front row seat." Without further warning, Kerrigan flexed the new muscle inside of Horners arm with deadly efficiency. Lark could only gasp in a horrified breath as tendrils ripped through the back of his neck, through his spine and vitals and punched out of his chest, writhing obscenely as gore sprayed onto the image of Mengsk.

Mengsk's face turned away sharply in disgust, unable to hide it. "Always knew you were a monster, Kerrigan. Not surprised you made more. Your new pets wont get off that backwater station alive."

Withdrawing from the mans thoroughly shredded insides, Horner flicked the blood from his tendrils before pulling them back inside his arm. Smirking through him, Kerrigan chuckled. "See you soon, Mengsk." Casually closing the comm with the disgruntled emperor, Horner walked out of the room as though nothing was amiss and Lark was left to cool in his juices.

The feeling of wrongness had come and gone so quickly, Raynor had no time to focus on it when him and Tychus rounded a corner and came into view of the three men who had first saw Jayce banging on the bathroom door angrily.

"Could just shoot it."

"We'd wake everyone up, no."

"Go get one of those gas cutters, it ain't hard." Their conversation died off when, as one, the three men turned to look at Tychus and Raynor and gaped in horror. They might as well have been demons.

"The zerg- the zerg are here!" Markus' voice raised an octave, his eyes bugging as the giant Findlay strode with purpose towards them, flanked by the spiky Raynor. If these cretins didn't want to fire off a gun, they sure as hell didn't either. As one, Markus' partners turned and made to flee, but he grabbed a wiry dark haired man by his shoulder and yanked him back violently- reaching for the only gun between the three of them that was fastened to the man's leg.

"Hell with this and hell with you Markus!" The man he had grabbed all but threw his gun at Markus and shoved himself away, breaking into a run. Two quick crunching sounds echoed through the hall beneath the pounding of their retreating feet- followed by the sharp whistle of projectiles flying and bodies falling. Markus' two friends had not gotten far- and Raynor had no intention of aiming for anything but the kill. His spikes had found their home buried neatly into their now ruptured hearts with dull thuds.

"The _Raiders_ are here." Raynor corrected Markus, staring grimly at him.

As soon as Markus raised the gun to take aim at Findlay, the big man launched forwards in a flurry of motion- the thick claws tipping his toes clattering against the cold floor. Tychus caught the man's right forearm with his left hand and squeezed so hard his muscles couldn't even tighten to pull the trigger. In immediate and immense amounts of pain, Markus attempted to fall to his knees but was held up as Tychus wagged a clawed finger at him. "Ah ah. You wait there." Leaning towards the woman's bathroom door, Tychus knocked three times casually.

_Knock knock knock_

Jayce had heard the struggle outside, muffled by the heavy door, but still jumped slightly when the door was knocked on.

"Occupied?" Tychus' playful drawl came as an immense relief and she almost ran at the door, all too eager to leave. When she saw Markus being held at Tychus' mercy as soon as the door had slid open, her eyes were icy chips.

"All done, actually." Keeping her tone even, she glanced from Tychus to Markus, morbidly curious about what was going to unfold. She had seen the still warm corpses of the other two men in her peripheral vision already, and had no illusions about what was going to happen to this sniveling man. She couldn't find it in herself to feel pity. Raynor watched the exchange, coughing slightly to remind Tychus of their time constraints.

"I didn't mean any harm, please!" Markus blubbered, the gun dangling from his deadened fingertips as he frantically grasped at Findlays armored arm. Looking directly at Jayce when it was clear Tychus had no intention of believing him, he pleaded. "Jayce, please, I don't want to die! I wasn't going to kill you! I swear!"

"No." Jayce cut in coldly, Tychus and Raynor curious to see what her verdict would be- not that it would change their own choice about the mans life. "You were just going to oh, I don't know, beat me, probably rape me and most likely keep me chained up in some room for however long I may live. Better than being killed though, right?" She bared her teeth slightly, glaring.

"Ladies spoken." Aware of their time ticking away, Tychus decided to cut the play short, much to his regret. Pulling back his right arm and closing his fist tight, Jayce took a long step backwards- she knew what was coming. Popping out of the indent in his arm, the long blade swiveled and snapped into position. Raynor did a double-take, arms loosening from their crossed position on his chest, he had yet to see this particular new feature of his old friend.

Genuine tears leaked out of Markus eyes and he redoubled his struggling, whispering frantic and repeated "No!" and "Please!" right up until Tychus swung his arm down and upwards, driving the blade through the man's guts and up into chest, lifting him as his flesh hit the base of the blade violently. Jayce watched the whole thing with a grim determination- as if she was delivering the killing blow herself. Markus hung gasping and twitching for a moment before Tychus quickly jerked free and dropped him like the sad sack he was.

The smell of fresh blood hit his nose, harsh and coppery, and Tychus froze looking at the dripping blade he was holding aloft. Before either Jayce or Raynor had realized what happened, and Raynor had honestly been transfixed himself, Tychus ran his tongue up the side of the blade and took a taste. Jayce quickly clapped a hand to her mouth and attempted to stifle a gag, breaking the moment.

Tychus knew now nothing would ever taste sweeter than blood and flesh, it had tasted like what a high-class meal had when he was still human. It was no wonder everything else tasted like ash now.

"Tychus. _What the hell!_" Broken out of his own reverie, Raynor exclaimed in disgust.

Shaking his head quickly, Tychus didn't allow himself or them time to think about what he had just done, flipping the blade back into its sheath and turning away from Jayce and Raynor- hiding his shame.

"Get your asses moving." Tychus rumbled, glaring down the hallway at nothing.

As if on cue, a bored security guard who had been sleeping through his shift slammed the emergency button on the console in front of him when he saw three corpses laying in a hall and the grainy images of three people- no, zerg- leaving them. Fearful, the man turned on the intercom and yelled "We're under attack by zerg! Sector 4 and 3! Battle stations!"

"Ah hell!" Raynor didn't need any further encouragement, he was off running with Tychus and Jayce at full tilt. Unfortunately it was quickly apparent Jayce's full tilt was well behind theirs. Tychus swung back and ignored any cries of protest she uttered as he scooped her bodily into the crook of his left arm and ran hard to catch up with Jim. "Didn't risk everyone's ass just to leave you in the dust on the getaway, sweet thing!" Tychus laughed.

Stetmann was currently under Swanns control. As soon as the station alarm went off he frowned tightly, staring hard at the fuel levels and hoping he could squeeze a lot more out before the crew got back. Warfield had dragged a few cargo containers near the lift door for cover purposes and was waiting, hoping it would be three familiar faces running at him instead of marines in full gear.

"Don't like this one bit." Swann muttered to himself, through Stetmann. When the tip of a Ghost rifle materialized right beside his temple, he froze.

"Me neither. Stand up and step away from the vehicle."

Taking a quick breath, he followed the Ghost's directions as closely as he could while Stetmann practically buzzed inside his head. He was standing beside the truck and staring down the barrel of the Ghosts gun when Stetmann forcefully ejected him from his body. Fighting to stop himself from jerking and getting prematurely shot, Stetmann whispered. "Please go. I don't want to hurt you."

Frowning from behind his suit mask, the Ghost wasn't quite convinced. "I think you are confused. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Warfield had obscured his view of the fuel truck and only had eyes for the entrances of the bay- which would make sense, but left Stetmann vulnerable to the hidden enemy. He would not be getting help from Warfield until it was too late, and the thought filled the young scientist with grim purpose.

"Okay. Okay. Hands where you can see them, got it." Stetmann brought his hands together, palms outwards, in the classic gesture of surrender. The Ghost didn't think anything of it, and it spelled his quick and brutal end. Warfield leaped into view immediately after the immensely loud clap sound- misconstrued as a gunshot- and a flash of white-hot light.

The Ghost, what was left of him, fell to his knees. His entire body from the rib cage up and between his shoulders had been incinerated, only some gory chunks of cooked flesh and smoking bone remained. It was so much worse against humans.

"What in the hell?" Warfield was flabbergasted, unable to articulate anything greater. Stetmann almost vomited on the spot, but quickly relinquished control to Swann who took a quick step back in shock but recovered quickly. Leaping back into the vehicle and looking over his shoulder, Swann was filled with relief when he saw Tychus, the woman in his arm and Raynor tearing through the bay doors. The gunfire chasing them was less welcome, and sensing time was officially up he severed the fuel vehicles connection with the Hyperion and ran for the lift with Warfield in tow.

"Time to go boys!" Raynor yelled as a squadron of Marines spilled into the bay after them, firing continually. Jayce was quietly thankful that Tychus' armored body was between herself and that gunfire- knowing full well he had taken some hits already, and held on for dear life.

As the door to the lift opened and they spilled into it, Warfield caught sight of something. "Hold! Holy shit, that's Horner!" Warfield returned fire at the Marine squad and forced them to take cover, Raynor joined in and Tychus put Jayce down behind the three of them before hefting his gun and doing the same.

Matt was running full tilt at them through the large bay doors, and nothing short of a Goliath was chasing him. Waving an arm frantically as he ducked under a spray of bullets and weaved past empty containers, Matt yelled as loud as he could over the gunfire "Wait for me! Hold that lift!" The Marines were in communication with the Goliath and turned to face the easier target, Horner was about to be filled to the brim with Gauss spikes if they didn't do something real fast.

"Ah hell!" Warfield threw his gun down- receiving _are you crazy?_ Looks from every person in the lift with him before he charged out of the small area and head first into the entrenched Marines. They were caught surprised when an entire cargo container lifted and bowled over three of their six members, temporarily trapping them face down. Reeling to fire on Warfield, he closed in on a combat suit with frightening speed, slamming a fist into and through the visor of the man's suit and scraping his talons across his face.

The maimed marine cried out in pain as blood filled his vision, but he would have lived had the other members of his unit not fired on his back to try and kill Warfield. Tychus and Jim had slipped around the cargo container behind them and brought their small fight to a decisive end- tearing out chunks of machine with their fists and rendering the marines unable to move in their combat suits, but alive.

Horner had made it up to them running at full speed. Without another word they all piled into the completely packed lift and watched as the Goliath opened fire just as the heavy door slammed shut. A collective breath of relief went through them as Swann raised their lift from above.

"Did even a single part of this misadventure go as planned?" Jayce panted, more exhausted emotionally than physically, and rested her head against Tychus' bloody back with a dull thunk.

"We got the fuel, maybe even more than we were going to pay for." Stetmann added perkily.

"Still gotta get the Hyperion out of here before this whole place goes on lock down- surprised it hasn't already, actually." Raynor muttered, checking the ammo of his rifle reflexively.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Horner piped up in a cool tone, swiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "When I saw the fuel truck hadn't moved I suspected we were being played and went right for the controller, Lark."

"I thought we weren't supposed to do anything _rash_?" Raynor smirked, not entirely blaming Horner for the situation- everyone had acted rashly after all.

"Boys!" Jayce had been listening to the cannons of the Goliath firing into the door below them with growing alarm.

"If that Goliath gets through the door it's gonna put holes in the chute, and I don't need to tell you what is going to happen when the atmosphere of space gets into this little death tunnel!" They all went silent, listening to the muffled firing for a second before lurching into action.

"Alright, look." Raynor was looking at the walls. There were horizontal ridges spaced every few feet to give the otherwise fabric-like chute a form and it was the best plan he could think of. "Jayce, you're gonna hold onto my back and we're all gonna climb up!" Raising his voice to cut off any kind of protest Jayce was about to raise about piggybacking off of her Commander "_That's an order!_"

Warfield, Tychus, Stetmann and Horner had already sprung upwards, leaping as high as they could before grasping at the solid steel edges. That left Raynor kneeling for Jayce and exposing his spiny back to her.

They were angled downwards at least, she wouldn't be impaled if he happened to jerk around. Steeling herself, Jayce leaned over him and gingerly curled both her broken and good arm around Jim's thick neck and only had a second to adjust her grip before he had leaped up and began scrabbling up the makeshift wall, outpacing the lift easily.

With nothing left to do but look down, Jayce was filled with rising alarm as small beams of light were shining up around the lift beneath them and the sound of gunfire became audibly louder. "It's getting through."

Huffing and looking upwards, Raynor could see Tychus and Warfield leaping into the safety of the Hyperion and helping Horner and Stetmann, both who didn't have claws, get in. "Almost there darlin', just hang on." Worry coiled in his guts when he keenly heard the hissing of air being sucked out of holes that were being made down below. With luck the Hyperion would be sealed before the shaft was ripped to shreds.

Swann had stepped back in surprise when Tychus and Warfield all but leaped up out of the hole in the ship and pulled Horner and Stetmann up with them. "What the hell is going on? Why aren't you on the lift?"

Gulping in a breath, Warfield waved Swann off. "Atmosphere is going to collapse any second, can you speed this damn thing up?!"

"She ain't designed to do that, it's a slow ass hydraulic system, champ!" Swann was defensive, scowling.

"Won't matter soon. Can you feel it?" There was a notable breeze, but it was really air being sucked away in increasingly large volumes. Horner looked dire as he peered down at Jim and his cargo. "They are too far down."

Tychus leaned forwards and called down, voice echoing through the shaft. "Jimmy hurry your ass up! You're runnin' outta time!"

"Gonna get the ship ready to go!" Horner announced before running off, his shoe-clad feet pounding against the grated steel as he made for the bridge.

Raynor was acutely aware of Jayce gulping air in his ear and holding tighter as the vacuum of space began to howl and pull. The chute rocked unsteadily, slowing him down until he was giving away precious seconds, but the opening in the ship was _right there_. "Hang tight!" Warfield and Tychus were yelling at him, the words being pulled away. Steeling himself and hoping she was secure enough, Jim began leaping upwards, redoubling his pace and closing the gap between them and their goal.

When Raynor and his cargo leaped into the Hyperion, Jayce was plucked from his back and yelped as Warfield went hurtling down the hall with her in his arms at max speed. He threw her bodily into a small maintenance locker, not having time to see what exactly she crashed into before he locked the door and sealed her in- temporarily safe from space and not a moment too soon.

Everyone braced themselves as the shaft crumbled away, space stealing their oxygen. The Hyperion's emergency lights enabled and their hall was sealed tight, protecting the atmosphere of the rest of the ship. What was seconds felt like minutes before the lift finally ground to a halt and sealed the ship tight against space. A loud hiss went off immediately as the adjutant opened vents and flooded oxygen back into the halls while everyone lay on the floor grasping at it and gratefully gulping air.

No sooner had the door closed than the ships thrusters roared to life, Matt focusing on getting the Hyperion out of the death trap.

As the ship trembled and all four of them laid there recovering, Jim croaked. "Where's Jayce?"

"Down here! Got her in the maintenance locker." Shouting, Warfield gave them a halfhearted wave. Tychus began chuckling; Jim paid it no mind but Swann and Stetmann were staring at the man like he'd gone insane, especially as his voice rose into boisterous laughter.

* * *

><p>And that is why this was a whole new chapter! Had fun writing it though, hope you had fun reading it too.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Kerrigan sat inside her Leviathan, which had landed near Zurvan, and had her eyes closed against the dull light that shone through the clouds and translucent membrane of the Leviathan's eye. The Swarm was thoroughly entrenched on the planet and the pack leaders had scattered shortly after Brakk had been killed- not a part of the plan, but there was pleasure to be taken from the hunt. They would die.

Aside from fighting arising over the remains of Brakk's pack, there was little standing in the way of expanding further into the volcanic jungles and towards the source of the planets power. Kerrigan had let her broodmothers and Izsha take full control of base expansion while allowing herself to take a break and observe Jim and his men from afar.

When she discovered they had arrived at the station to refuel, she had considered her options. Turning the station into a Zerg hub that Shlassa was left to command was a perfectly viable alternative, but she wanted to see what the men themselves did and was well rewarded for her patience. The image of Arcturus Mengsk appearing before Matt Horners eyes had been too good to resist- she took control of the man and made sure that little retch of an emperor knew exactly what was coming. Her lips were bowed into a smile just at the thought.

Izsha's voice brought Kerrigan out of her lull. "My Queen. The Terran woman yet lives. Why do they tolerate her presence?" She had lowered down from the fleshy ceiling nearby and tilted her head inquisitively. Izshas entire design was to store thoughts and provide input, it was no surprise that her curiosity- which she had in abundance- would be raised at such a thing.

Glowing eyes snapping open, Kerrigan glanced at the creature before looking out over the at-rest form of Zurvan. "She is a test, Izsha. I had not planned on there being any survivors on the Hyperion, of course, but when I saw them fighting to save her- an idea formed."

"Please explain, my Queen."

Resting her hands atop a knee, her leg having folded over the other in a profane demureness- Kerrigan smirked. "They are going to slowly be brought into the swarm so that their minds remain in tact, remember?" Without waiting for confirmation, of course Izsha remembered, she continued. "Their Terran thoughts and ideals continually rebel against the consuming nature of the swarm, to devour the weak. Jayce, the Terran girl, is temptation." Indeed, that Jayce gravitated towards Tychus- who was perhaps the weakest against such instincts, was like watching a moth fluttering in front of a bug zapper.

"She will tempt them?" Izsha was confused. Temptation was not something the zerg ever resisted, and therefor not a subject to be identified and labeled.

"Yes, Izsha, tempt. It is only a matter of time before the girl triggers an instinct that comes fighting to the surface from any one of those men and she will be consumed. When they look upon her corpse they will know just how completely they have fallen."

"I see. You truly know what is best, my Queen." The cold hard truth was the Queen of Blades had not and would not touch Jayce, or force them to kill her, they would do it themselves.

In his chambers on the Bucephalus, truly as opulent and expansive as they came, Prince Valerian was scouring through the information his drones had extracted from Station 837 and the short amount of time the Hyperion had docked there. The ship itself was not far behind Jim and his men now, thanks to a few calculated warp jumps, but Valerian had chosen to remain well beyond detection for the time being- letting the captain and his very experienced crew take care of the rest.

The video footage he was watching and the audio between the Hyperion and the station's controller painted a very clear picture of what had happened, and it gave Valerian a measure of relief. Jim and his men had not been changed into mindless killers and, if their visit to the station was any indication, there was no goal to infest every Terran settlement they touched. All in all, it gave Valerian strong hope for the return of Raynor's Raiders.

There were two pieces of information he was puzzling over, however. The woman they had with them was clearly not a zerg herself, she wouldn't have needed to be rescued and she certainly wouldn't have a cast either. Who is she? Is she a captive? It seemed she was helping them interact with other Terrans, or at least tried to. Valerian couldn't imagine it being a willing service, but her being mostly in tact was a good sign.

Secondly; when Matt Horner, the captain of the Hyperion, entered the control room all camera and voice footage had been very clearly removed. It seemed as though Arcturus had already been there, one step ahead as he had been through this entire venture. The thought of his father brought his blood to an angry simmer and he forced himself to breath, calming down.

Arcturus Mengsk had been following every step Valerian and the Raiders took even before they came together to fight against Kerrigan. From the artifacts to the assault on Char itself, Valerian's father had been there watching and waiting to take the credit for success and condemn the mission if it failed. When the Bucephalus retreated from the failed battle- the White Star, Arcturus' flag ship, and an entourage of battlecruisers had given chase and Valerian was told all by his father personally. Truly, with the extra support from Arcturus and his fleet the mission itself may not have failed- and Valerian would not forgive his father for that tremendous loss of life.

The Bucephalus had spent days just fleeing from the remaining fleet- the discussion between son and father had come to ultimatums and finally, blows. There was no time to warn the sector of what had happened on Char, and the Bucephalus was limping heavily by the time the engineers aboard managed to remove all the bugs they had found planted across the ship. From there, officially a terrorist traitor, Valerian had to seek less reputable channels to try and spread the news- but it did not work. Arcturus had already swept the entire Char invasion under the rug while his fleet was chasing his son around the sector. It was a wonder the Moebius Foundation would still associate with him at all.

The most he had been able to do with his grand ship was give aid to the less fortunate, helping the real victims of the zerg invasion, and become a lot better at dodging the authorities in the process.

Valerian was interrupted from his deep, depressive thoughts by the red blinking of a transmission. "Patch him through, adjutant."

"Sir." It was Everett Vaughn, captain of the ship. "Our technicians have calculated the trajectory of the Hyperion."

"Go on, captain." Valerian was all ears, where the Hyperion was going now was anyone's guess.

"The ice planet of Kaldir. The Hyperion is not aiming directly for it, but we believe it is just a tactic to throw off pursuers and that they can warp jump there."

"Well, you and your team are the best at what you do. A confusing turn of events, but I trust your judgment. Continue following the Hyperion and do not let them know of our presence just yet." Valerian was already pulling out information about Kaldir before the captain had even ended the call.

After Horner guided the Hyperion to a clean getaway and announced they were officially in the clear, everyone made their way to the cantina together. Jayce had excused herself to take a few painkillers before rejoining them, having jarred her elbow hard enough to coax some reluctant tears of agony when Warfield had hurled her to safety. By the time she got to the cantina she could almost forget the entire horrible situation they were all in and was smiling in her drug-induced haze.

Scattering through the room all six men found their seats and finally began decompressing. Jayce sat heavily at the bar and leaned against it, mumbling softly. "Wonder where Cooper went." Unaware of the pained looks directed at her from the men who knew the name of the bartender.

"Jayce. How many of those painkillers did you take exactly?" Stetmann was clearly concerned, ready to get up and take a closer look at her.

"Three." Furrowing her brows and frowning at the younger man, she held up three fingers before smiling and leaning back.

"Eh, she'll be fine." He settled back down, and his assurance was enough to allow other topics to arise.

"Right. Gentlemen, I want a recap. A lot went on back there and I want all the details." Raynor rested his hands on the table in front of himself and folded his fingers together.

"Well I was stuck in the Lab with that damn bug monster until you told the kid to operate the fuel truck. Don't know how you tolerate that thing, by the way." Swann, gruff as always, pointedly looked at Stetmann who shrugged slightly. "Something also happened in there and Shlassy or whatever its name is, said "You have no idea what is going on, do you Terran?" Warfield, Raynor, Tychus and Stetmann all looked wary at the reminder, though Horner seemed visually unphased.

"Oh yeah, and you blew a Ghost to chunks with your hands." Thinking about what had happened brought that little detail back with high definition clarity. When Stetmann relinquished control and let Swanns mind back in only to see the body of what was going to be Stetmann's killer falling to the ground in a cooked heap, he still didn't know what to think about it.

"What?" Raynor tilted his head, dark eyes scrutinizing the young man critically. Horner and Warfield were giving him similar looks while it was Tychus' turn to look not surprised.

"He did that to me when he first woke up." Snorting and shaking his head, Tychus gave a shrug at some of the alarmed looks he received- he was obviously in tact. "What? I'm sure as hell tougher than some pansy ass Ghost."

"Ah. I have some theories about how it works, I just haven't had time to test it. But yes, I seem to be able to generate a singularity of some magnitude- at least when under duress." It was Stetmann's turn to look pointedly at Tychus then, who had the good grace to look sheepish.

"Right. Well you be sure to let me know how that works when you do get some time." Giving his stubble a careful scratch, Jim came back to the more concerning topic. "Where was everyone when that creepy feeling happened? I felt it too, Swann. Tychus and I were just around the corner from Jayce at the time." The more he thought about it, the more it worried him.

"I remember it now." Warfield stared at the ceiling as he recalled, flexing his fingertips and extending his black talons. "I was getting the containers set up around the lift for cover. Didn't last long though, but it felt- it felt like _her._" His jaw muscles clenched in anger at the thought of Kerrigan.

"It did." Jim confirmed, receiving quiet nods from the others- except for Horner who was staring hard at the floor. "Matt. Where were you? You said you went to Lark soon as you thought we were being played- good call by the way."

Looking up from the floor Matt nodded in thanks, but his voice betrayed how troubled he was. "It doesn't make sense, Jim." Uncomfortable under the collective gaze of their group, Horner crossed his arms and couldn't find it in himself to look back. "I went into that room and I know I killed him- that bastard deserved it. But I don't know any _details_. It was a damn communication room, anything could have happened in there!" Unfurling his arms, Matt slammed his fist into the table with frustration.

"This doesn't bode well, but I'm more concerned about Kerrigan being able to be so subtle. At best, we were able to discern something happened. I'm starting to think that fighting her- even together- mentally is becoming less of an option, Commander." Stetmann was frowning, a look shared by everyone at that point.

"Whatever happened in there, Matt, it wasn't your fault." Jim pointed at Matt, wanting it made clear there was no ill feelings on this front. His look softened slightly when he looked away from the seething Matt and at Jayce, who was staring at the television blankly. "I should probably apologize. She isn't the damn puppet- we are."

"Might want to try when she isn't as high as a space station." Tychus looked at her as well and shook his head.

Raynor nodded, running a hand through his hair in a stressed gesture. His voice was tired and worn. "I am sorry, all of you. If I knew how to get us out of this mess, you know I'd make whatever sacrifice I had to in order to make it happen."

"We know, son. Right now all we can do is go to this Kaldir place and follow orders. When we first decided to fight Kerrigan we knew damn well that was going to be the long haul, lets not forget that." Warfield looked each of them over, clicking his talons against the cool steel of the tabletop idly.

"What about Shlassy?" Brows furrowed, Swann looked up from his chitinous hands with an especially severe expression.

"What about the broodmother?" Jim tilted his head, looking sharply at the chief engineer.

Catching on to Swann's line of thinking, Stetmann nodded enthusiastically and smiled. "A much lower goal."

"Critters also got some sorta connection with the Queen of Blades- went all rigid and at attention when that feeling came. I wager we weaken Queenies hold on us just by taking out that thing."

Shlassa's voice, deadly soft, echoed through their minds. _You can try, Terrans._

A pin could be dropped audibly in the silence that came after the message, everyone still as stone and exchanging glances.

Jayce straightened up and scrunched her face in disgust suddenly, looking at Tychus. "You _licked _your blade after you impaled that guy." That immediately got Tychus some looks, to which he just blinked and glared at Jayce- who was apparently missing some very important filters under the influence.

Taking a steadying breath, Raynor snapped his fingers and pointed a claw at Tychus, pointedly glossing over that uncomfortable moment where he did indeed lick a blade covered in gore. "That reminds me. Arm blades. Any other surprises?" Looking over each man with a quirked brow, Jim thought the question was clear: what _exactly_ can you all do?

"Oh, I never did give you that synopsis commander, sorry. So much has gone on these past few days, even without the need to sleep there just isn't enough hours in a day to do everything." Catching Raynor's pointed throat clear, Stetmann refocused. "Tychus: Arm blades, incredible strength- he lifted the armory door, greatly improved senses- that goes for all of us. Ah what else. Claws. Predatory instincts observed. A lot of these overlap- we all have some common changes between us." Tychus wasn't sure he liked having his attributes read off like some lab rat.

"General Warfield:" Stetmann shifted uncomfortably as everyone focused on him. No one _really_ wanted to hear just how messed up they were, after all. "very similar to Tychus in skin density and strength. There are patches of porous skin that can expel an extremely hallucinogenic compound and his talons, retractable, excrete a paralytic venom. This venom can most likely kill a smaller sized Terran, shutting down the ability to breath, but it's hard to say." Warfield looked down at his hands quietly, morose.

"Ah. Captain Horner and I are similar in that we retain our normal head of hair, but we both have long rod-like sections down the sides of our spines. I suspect the hair and the rods give us a greater connection to the swarm- these tendrils and spines are notable features in both broodmothers and Kerrigan herself." The light of interest was dimming in everyone's eyes as Stetmann began to veer off course and Raynor butted in quickly.

"What you _know_ we can do, doc, not theories."

"Yes. Sorry sir. Focusing." Pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment, Stetmann continued. "The captain has an extendable cluster of fleshy tentacle-like tendrils stored in his arms. I haven't gotten to know much more than that yet, need to sit down and run some tests with him. I have multiple layers of eyes that allow me to see in different spectrums, truly remarkable by the way, and the singularity generation as we already discussed." Stetmann paused pointedly then, looking at Jim.

"You, commander, have detachable spines that you can throw. It seems the muscles of your arms and shoulders have been modified to allow you some incredible aim and force- comparable to or greater than the force behind a standard Gauss rifle. You also lack the distinctive "zerg" hair, but have no rods along your spine, which punches a bit of a hole in my theory about having a deeper connection with the swarm. Your detachable spines could have replaced that, though. Just a guess." Stetmann shrugged.

"Oh! And Swann, he can-"

"Listen, what I can do doesn't matter so lets cut the crap." Swann butted in pointedly, catching some looks of disapproval but he'd be damned if he cared. "What _you_ kids need to do is figure out how you're gonna not get turned into popsicles over on Kaldir." Swann was already standing up, ready to leave. "And no, I ain't goin' down there. We're running a ship that should be crewed with over a thousand with two people who know what they are doing, three meatheads, a pilot, a scientist and a bunch of zombies- someone has to stay up here."

"You think I know what I'm doing?" Jayce smiled widely.

Swann was about to brisk past her but thought better of it and carefully pulled Jayce along by her good arm. "I'll get her back to her room."

As soon as Swann and Jayce had left, Tychus frowned heavily and gave a quick gesture with his head in the direction they had gone. "What's his problem?"

"Other than being turned into a beetle?" Horner scowled, glaring at Tychus.

"It's more than that. Swann knew everyone on this ship, you know? I mean, we did too in our own way but they were all like his kids." Stetmann sat down slowly and sighed. He didn't know people like that, but seeing some familiar faces among the infested had cut deep- he couldn't imagine what it was like for people such as Swann and Horner.

As soon as the cantina door slid shut with a definitive _snick_, Swann began guiding the hazy Jayce back to her quarters. Below the thrumming and humming of his baby, the Hyperion, something disturbing was becoming very clear. Swanns face fell the moment he realized he was listening to the calm thumping of Jayces heart, the steady flow of blood rushing through her body, and felt a rising excitement that he very firmly labeled not his own. He was almost sweating bullets by the time the doors to her room slid open.

Having walked with her boss, and she honestly felt Swann was more her boss than the Commander or Captain, Jayce had been subdued and quiet- lost in foggy thoughts. Looking into her room and its rundown appearance- bloodstained and grease smeared rags were in piles around her unmade bed and part-covered table. Everything became so jarringly clear, she couldn't help the hot tears that immediately poured out of her eyes unbidden.

"Swann."

Swallowing hard, he registered all too keenly the salt of tears and heard the hitch in breathing. Swann let Jayce go carefully and quickly, as if she was made of snakes. The stout man filled up her door frame and lingered there until the pause between her statement became awkward. "Yeah?" Managing to mumble a response, he looked down at the floor and started running through mundane tasks in his head in an attempt to distract himself.

"They are all dead. Cooper, our co-workers. Everyone." Slowly, she turned to face him while clutching her broken arm to her chest, eyes already red from the tears dripping out of them steadily. It hit Swann right in his heart.

Looking at Jayce sharply, Swann stepped back to her and circled his arms around her firmly- but ever so carefully. Grateful, Jayce buried her face into the shoulder of his work suit and heaved a sob as he swallowed hard again and thought about the souls lost on the ship too.

"Hey, hey. I'm alive, you're alive, captain and some other meatheads are alive. It ain't over yet." Patting her back cautiously, Swann struggled to think of something comforting to say. He was the gruff engineer, not the social worker, but what could you really say about a situation like this? Swann supposed despair wasn't misplaced.

"Look at me." Reaching up he carefully tugged her hair back until she was looking at him, red eyed and bleary. She needed to see his sincerity. "They really are dead and gone, you are right, but when this is over I'm gonna make personally sure all those infested are put down. They will be at peace, you hear me girl?" He focused hard, keeping her gaze and ignoring that irregular heartbeat thumping temptingly in her ribcage.

"Yes." Sniffing hard, Jayce swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, believing for all it was worth that this could have a happy ending if her boss said it would.

Separating from her slowly, Swann patted her shoulder with his chitinous bear paw sized hand and forced the lump that had formed in his throat down. "But until then, I want you to be careful." Withdrawing his hands back to his sides and taking a slow step back, Swann felt worried- and why wouldn't he? Who else was looking at Jayce like a burger if he had been? "You aren't safe around us. There is something... Something going on in our heads that we don't understand yet, and until that broodmother in the Lab is dead and gone we're not going to have as much control over ourselves as we want. You get it?" The door thunked open behind him and he took a long step out, keeping his eyes locked with hers, wanting that answer before he was going to leave.

It was chilling to hear such a thing from the man who had in his own way become her father throughout the years, but Jayce nodded slowly and scrubbed the back of her blood-spattered shirt against her sore eyes. "Yes sir."

Letting out a small sigh of relief, Swann looked to lighter topics. "Good. I want you to get Stetmann to look at that arm later. Need to get you up and running soon or this ship is just going to fall to pieces. Can't take care of it all myself, even if I am awesome."

Smiling slightly, Jayce patted her cast gingerly. "I will."

"Good. Get some rest." Swann took a final step back and the door shut tight, leaving Jayce to stumble to and pass out on top of her bed in exhaustion- still garbed in the blood stained suit from the mission.

As the displayed image of Jayce slumped into bed, Tychus' thumbed the datapad off with a definitive thump.

"I feel like this was a breech of privacy." Stetmann's voice was high with discomfort, but he had watched the exchange between Swann and Jayce all the same. Tychus had pulled out the datapad almost immediately after the two had left, already having noted Jayce never took the pin off her sleeve.

If Jim had any doubts about Jayce left, they were burned away and left him feeling wretched. He stared at the empty space where the woman and his surly chief engineer had been hugging quietly before lowering his gaze to his hands.

"Something was going on with Swann there, before they had their conversation." Warfield had kept his expression neutral but he felt a deep pang for the men and women lost under his command when Jayce had broke down, there was nothing for it. He did his best to be an impartial viewer.

"He did look very uncomfortable." Matt decided to pitch in his two cents, he had plenty of interactions with the chief engineer and seeing him repeatedly focusing intensely on Jayce and snapping himself out of it just as many times did not sit well. The man was unflappable.

Tychus was perhaps the least affected emotionally. Everyone he had an attachment to was still alive- though he couldn't call what they were now okay by any stretch. He, too, identified Swanns apparent struggle- had been tempted to run off and intervene just in case, even. But he decided to extend some faith, Swann was as stubborn as any mule. "You can't tell me none of you haven't felt the same yet." It did seem odd that everyone else was so rattled to see what was happening. Just how much more deeply was he affected than them?

Raynor raised his eyes to Tychus, quirking a spiny brow. "Felt the same?" The image of his old friend licking gore off an arm blade came back to him, a grim reminder. Maybe Jim did know what Tychus was referring to, there had been an almost hypnotic allure to that thick red paste.

"There's a reason why I stopped watching her." Warfield mumbled grimly. Yes, he did not want any unfortunate accidents involving his new _attributes, _but the hunger and intense feelings that he was struck with in Jayces presence had been increasingly alarming. "Somethin' gnawing at our minds. Swann has the right of it." He nodded towards the datapad.

"If she just keeps the pin on we can keep tabs on her without having to be near. Probably the safest choice right now." Horner offered, scrutinizing his own feelings. He had not been around Jayce nearly as much as the others and though there was a steady pressure of sorts on his thoughts- as though millions more were trying to crowd into his head but were held back by the finest membrane, he had not felt such strong urges.

Jim was nodding in agreement with Horner, though Tychus looked displeased and Stetmann had stood up and began pacing around as his mind whirred.

"Maybe that would be best. I'll let her know myself when she wakes up." Jim offered. Wasn't much else to do until they got to Kaldir anyway; Other than to send a transmission to Ariel, which he had been avoiding.

Tychus felt unsure, and more than a little displeased at the idea of losing some of his only entertainment. Not like Jim had been much for talking these past days. The often quiet companionship with Jayce had been a balm on his mood, if he had to be truthful to himself. "I don't know about just leavin' her alone. Hell, she's the only good conversation on this heap right now."

Jim's gaze sharpened perceptibly. "I think you might be the least trustworthy around her, Tychus." Tychus returned the glare, challenging but silent. "And you know damn well why, too. No. We're gonna keep our distance from here on out until we can get a handle on what's happening."

"Sure thing, Jimmy." Tychus knew what Jim was on about, and though he couldn't blame him he had already decided it was an order he wasn't following.

Itching to get back to his lab and feeling terribly guilty about spying on Jayce and Swann, Stetmann stopped his pacing and spoke up. "I'm going to go back to the lab." He let himself out when he was waved off by the three remaining men. It was Stetmanns job to think and find solutions, so far he'd done pretty badly in his opinion. Maybe finding a way to keep the more savage zerg instincts at bay for those who struggled would be a less lofty goal.

_Stetmann._ Swann's voice pierced into the young mans mind and he immediately felt guilty.

_Oh. Hello Swann. What can I do for you?_ Trying to avert his guilty thoughts, Stetmann paused in a long hallway and waited to see what the engineer needed.

_Relax kid. _Being that they were so connected, Swann felt Stetmann's nervous and guilty feelings practically seeping into his head and tried to alleviate it as fast as possible. _I got something for you- come down to floor 5 sector G_.

Forcing himself to take a breath, Stetmann's curiosity quickly overpowered his guilt. _On my way._

Raynor, Warfield, Horner and Tychus were all getting up and ready to leave the cantina to their own personal haunts, nothing left to talk about until they got to that ice ball of a planet. When Horner's gloved hand clapped on to Tychus' massive bicep, he paused and slowly turned to look at the much smaller man with a quirked brow.

Smirking, Horner held up a stogie that he had pilfered from Lark- Tychus grinned wide and plucked it out of his hand. "Got a light?"

"Uh huh." They stood off to the side of the door as the other two men sauntered out. Fishing a lighter out of his suit pocket, he lit up the stogie for the bigger man.

Taking a slow pull of the cigar, its cherry glowing bright, Tychus let out a quick laugh that had Horner looking concerned. "Bucolic."

"What?"

"Nothin'. Don't worry about it." Despite his misgivings of the cigars brand, Tychus kept it. He knew a peace offering when he saw one. "You're not so bad, _captain._"

"Just tired of fighting, Tychus. We're on the same team." Exchanging nods between one another, they resumed their exit and went their separate ways.

On Korhal and inside the Imperial Palace, Arcturus Mengsk was seated in a leathery swivel chair and gazing up at the wall of monitoring screens he had arrayed in front of him. A glass of fine wine sat untouched on its perch before him. His attention was on one monitor in particular, where a call was waiting to be accepted. Even the staggering view of his kingdom through the massive windows on either side of him, smoke plumes reaching into the cold gray sky from continued riots and all, did not stir his attention.

The face of Dr. Emil Narud appeared after a few more moments of impatient waiting. Narud's snowy white hair and clothing were all perfectly manicured and cared for, as they always appeared to be. "Ah. Emperor Mengsk. I am pleased to see you. What can I do for you today?"

Tipping his head slightly at the scientist, Mengsk rested his hands on the arms of his chair and gripped it firmly- focused on keeping his cool demeanor. "Dr. Narud. I am sure you are aware of the situation on Korhal and the core worlds. In light of recent findings, I believe it is time to step up our security."

"Yes. I had heard that the hearts and minds of the people had not been swayed by your latest speech. Most unfortunate. Are you suggesting that you'd like the Project to be activated?"

A graying eyebrow twitched slightly at the man's nerve. It was no secret Dr. Narud was in love with his own brain and often looked down on just about everyone. He was lucky his brain was so useful, or Arcturus would have been all too happy to get rid of him. "Yes. I want the specimens on Korhal to be introduced into the squads that have been trained to receive them immediately and with all safety precautions at the ready."

Dr. Narud looked almost offended. "They will follow your every command. I assure you."

Leaning forwards slightly as though to glare down at the older man, Mengsk mustered all the warning he could put into his calm tone. "You will also follow my every command, Narud. I own you and every piece of science shit you covet. Do not fail me." Mengsk nearly slammed the comm off before leaning back in his chair and letting out an angry huff. Too much failure had happened already.

With their defeat, Raynor and his men becoming zerg creatures had been expected- but nothing more than simple infested or, and Arcturus had truly hoped, built into living walls to anguish for eternity. That they were out there in the Koprulu sector and possibly only second to Kerrigan herself in deadliness did not sit well with him. Not well at all.

Standing up and clasping his hands behind his back, Mengsk looked over his kingdom in ruin. "This needs to be brought under control. Now. Adjutant!"

"Yes, Emperor Mengsk?"

"Schedule a press conference at 0800 in three days time. Only press allowed and no weapons other than my own escort."

"Yes, Emperor Mengsk. The press will be informed." The people will kneel before their emperor and order would be restored, one way or another.

* * *

><p>Bit of a transitional chapter with some developments, nothing too exciting but I had fun writing it. Kaldir next chapter, now there's where the fun's at! Hope December is treating you guys well, have a good one.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Kerrigan crested the earthy incline and came to a halt. Her armored feet, given the curious shape of living heels, dug into the well-packed dirt firmly. She frowned at what lay before her. Spread across a field was an ancient pool, similar to the smaller ones she had taken to siphoning essence from when she found them, but it was beyond massive in scale.

"It's a pool." Her lips were bowed into a frown, and she felt her ire rising at the thought of being played by an ancient lizard.

_No._ Zurvan had remained behind with the Leviathan, and so an Overlord was left drifting near him for communication purposes. It took his voice and brought it to Kerrigan through the hive mind.

_This primordial place, the very first spawning pool, is the power of Zerus. The Zerg first crawled from it in a time before names. Here you will be remade or consumed if proven wanting. What will you sacrifice for power?_

Her anger quelled momentarily, Kerrigan looked across the expanse of bubbling ooze with a returned sense of determination. Nothing was stronger than the Queen of Blades.

"Anything."

Abathur manifested in her thoughts as soon as her feet sank into the warm liquid. _Recommendation: avoid pool. Catalytic fluid will overwhelm queen's body. Not strong enough._

_When I emerge, Abathur, you will once again remember why I lead the swarm. No one is stronger than me._ Striding past the toothy spikes that were jutting out of the pool, Kerrigan noted it seemed awfully like a mouth when she stood at the center and looked around. Already she could feel the primal essence of the pool seeping through the flesh that it touched, offering change. _Zagara. Izsha. Abathur. You three will defend me. Go now and prepare._

_Yes my queen._ All three echoed eerily, immediately beginning preparation for the defense of their soon to be defenseless leader.

_Transform. Transcend. _Zurvan's whisper was the last sound Kerrigan heard before erecting the fleshy walls of a chrysalis around herself and becoming immersed in the catalytic fluids of the pool.

Something was flashing in front of Jayces closed eyes, making her brows furrow in discomfort for a moment before coming to a groggy wakefulness. Blinking away the sleep, her hand flailed at the datapad with the incoming call light but missed.

"Accept the call." Grumbling, she kept one eye open and watched the flow of information on screen as Jim spoke up.

"Wake up darlin'. We're gonna be at Kaldir soon and I needed to talk to you real quick-like."

"Yes sir." Noting that there was no visual component to their call, she scrubbed at her face and slowly sat up.

"You still got that pin on you from 837. I want you to keep that on so we can keep an eye on you, but you've got free run of the ship from here on out. No more Tychus and me over your shoulder." Jim did not want to elaborate, suspecting fear would not help their particular situation at all.

"Oh yeah." Jayces hand reached for the button reflexively before the realization that her exchange between Swann had most likely been monitored sunk in. Embarrassed silence followed.

Jayce was no fool. Raynor suspected she caught on to that little bit as soon as the silence wore on, and quickly attempted to gloss over it. "You're gonna stay on the ship with Stetmann, Swann and Horner, of course. I want this ship spit shined when I get back on it, alright?"

"Does this mean you want me to avoid everyone, sir?" Standing up, Jayce began to gather the dirty rags and laundry laying around her room. The place was well overdue for a cleaning, although her mind was elsewhere.

"Don't beat around the bush, do you?" Raynor frowned, glancing at an only partially finished recording of his message to a certain very stubborn, pretty doctor.

"No sir." Jayce smirked slightly while dumping her clothes down a chute built into the back of her tiny closet.

"Yes. Everyone has been told to keep their distance from you, Jayce. You can interact with Stetmann when you need your arm looked at, but that's it. Everything else is going to be over comms. I know you liked hangin' out with Tychus, but you also know the situation you're in. It ain't safe." Jim felt like an ass, but it was the truth. He'd rather her have nobody to talk to or be companionable with than risk an accident.

Jayce felt blood rushing to her head as her anger rose, leaving her stuffing the last of her linens into the chute a little forcefully before stepping back from the closet and glaring down at the comm. Catching herself before any biting response could escape, she regulated her thoughts and feelings for a few moments until it was safe to speak. "You have the right of it, sir. Just don't like the idea of walkin' around this ghost ship alone, but I'll manage." _Maybe I'll clean the blood off the walls and pretend nothing is wrong._

"I hear you. Don't know where we'll be goin' after Kaldir, but I'm hoping we can get you somewhere safe soon." Giving his face a rub, Jim sat down heavily in his chair. It used to be extremely comfortable- one of Mengsk's many luxuries in his private quarters, but it had seen better days by now- especially after his back spines had perforated it repeatedly.

Frowning, Jayce placed the datapad on the bedside counter and started ripping away her blankets and pillows. Now that the stale air was moving around, she realized it stunk like an old gym locker in here. "There's nowhere for me to go, sir. I am a part of a terrorist organization, an escapee criminal and I can't even defend myself properly right now." Unable to keep from smirking, Jayce thought about the irony of being labeled a criminal when Mengsk was still the Emperor, of all people. " I wasn't just bullshitting when I said my place was with the Raiders and that I wanted to help, you know?"

"Don't you get it?" Jim snapped, irritable at her naivety. "You could end up a damn _infested_! That is worse than anything Mengsk and his Dominion justice could ever throw at you!"

"Then I suppose it shows just how terrible our own race really is when I'd prefer to side with the zerg!" It couldn't be helped, once Jim started snapping, Jayce snapped back.

"You are not staying on this damn ship!"

"You need me."

"We'll see about that." Frustrated, Jim ended the call abruptly before they really got into it. Even his spines were twitching in agitation. _I need a drink._

Horner's voice scratching to life over the comm system was a welcome distraction. "We are arriving at Kaldir shortly. Brace for warp jump in 5.. 4..." Everyone was reaching for something stable to grab a hold of or attempting to preemptively save things that weren't stable. "2..1..." The Hyperion and its contents blurred momentarily before ripping through space and reappearing whole once more. Instead of the vast starry expanse of space before them it was the icy white and blue colored moon, Kaldir, dwarfed by the massive gray gas giant, Midr IV, which it belonged to.

Finally faced with their destination, Jim grudgingly let his thoughts be known. _So we're here now. We just need to find this broodmother and what, bring it back to team Zerg?_ As he expected, Shlassa was always listening.

_Nafash is surely dead. I can not sense her anywhere, nor can I sense what killed her. You will go down to the moon and find her body. We will decide what is next from there. _

_Sir, the scanners aren't picking up anything either. _Horner piped up, concerned. No one liked the sound of that. Regardless, Jim was met by Warfield, Tychus and Swann at the drop pods the chief engineer and his people had designed alongside Stetmann.

"It's a one-way trip hot shot. I can pilot a medivac when it's time to get outta there though, just need to give me the word." Swann patted the side of one of the large containers fondly while everyone else, excluding Raynor, eyed them skeptically.

"I didn't like being launched in one of these out of a ship, hurled through the atmosphere and landing on rocks at Char, and I still don't like it. What about our skin anyway? Isn't this moon the coldest place in the whole damn sector, Jimmy?" Tychus jerked slightly when Swann pointedly threw a pair of too-small mittens at his bare chest.

"Knew you'd be the one to ask."

Warfield and Raynor could barely contain snorts of laughter, entering their drop pods before Tychus could retaliate. "That ain't funny!" Stepping into his own drop pod quietly, Tychus shifted his rifle aside and stared down at the mittens in his hand and mumbled. "Who on this rig was wearing mittens anyway?"

Strapping himself in, Jim sat back and got ready for the ride. _Matt. Bring 'er into low orbit. We're ready._

In his laboratory, Stetmann was observing the results of his most recent tests critically. What Swann had given him was an interesting gift: access to a small firing range that had never been used. _Ammo is too precious to waste firing at a concrete slab_. Swann had said. It was just another relic of Arcturus' many over-indulgences. Stetmann wondered how many more little jewels were scattered around the ship, he had never been interested in looking. What the firing range offered him was a safe space to recreate and figure out just exactly what was going on with his curious singularity attack.

"You Terrans are all so lost inside. Chaotic." Shlassa uttered from her space on the other side of the room. To monitor their thoughts continually had become confusing and taxing in its own way. So many of their thoughts seemed purely wasteful, it was a trying task to sort through them and keep everything under control. Keeping track of what they were thinking at all times was even more important with the constant reminders of all of them wanting her dead: she would not be taken by surprise.

Used to her little comments by now, Stetmann didn't even flinch at her echoing hissing voice. "Free will has upsides and downsides. We each have to find our own purpose: a lifelong pursuit for some."

"There is nothing greater than the unity of purpose of the swarm. As one we are unstoppable." Tilting her head slightly, Shlassa monitored the decent of the three warriors to the moons surface while awaiting Stetmann's rebuttal. Despite the hostile situation around her, Stetmann could generate interesting conversation at times: a welcome respite.

"The swarm is, undoubtedly, unified and powerful. But how many times and on how many fronts have we defeated them just because they weren't capable of thinking beyond the hive mind, or were all tied to the choices of one leader? There are downsides, Shlassa." Scribbling down notes and compiling data, Stetmann remained focused on his task.

"You do not understand what it means to be as one, tell me what you think when you do." Stetmann glanced at Shlassa then, catching her glowing gaze for a second before looking back down at his work.

"I feel it at all times: a pressure on my brain. Why haven't we been immersed in the hive mind? Or have we? Are Terrans not capable of it?" Shlassa's comment had many implications and Stetmann didn't like any that came to mind.

An idea came to Shlassa then, she visibly perked up spines and all. Schooling herself back to a neutral position, she kept her tone even. "I am all that is keeping you and the others from being overwhelmed. Your minds, still too Terran in nature, would be destroyed. That is part of my purpose here." There was no longer any doubt that each would become stronger than her in time, she knew it now.

Taking control of them would soon cease to be an option if they tried to physically or mentally harm her. They didn't need to know that there would be a point when the full force of the interconnected minds of the zerg would not destroy their own. She'd keep that part to herself.

"Oh. Well that explains some things." Stetmann couldn't hide his disappointment. Shlassa had suddenly gone from an enemy to a lifeline in the span of a few moments time.

"Indeed." Pleased, Shlassa clasped her spindly fingers together and leaned back slightly. The little scientist would tell the others, and she would be safe once again.

"Hey Jayce. Yeah, I gave him the mittens. It was great. Shoulda seen the look on his ugly mug." Swann was smirking; he had kept an open comm with Jayce as soon as the drop pods launched and their cargo was taken to ground.

"That's good. Say: I found more of those flow intensifiers, do you still need them?" Jayce had begun her morning routine, a simple maintenance and diagnostic run, but with the addition of several other co-workers' duties. Usually the ship was split off into sections and individuals were to take care of their own, but she took on as many as she reasonably could in this case.

"Oh yeah! I honestly thought we were out of 'em. Could always use more and some spares, just put 'em over at my office in the armory and I'll make use of 'em later."

"Yes sir." While the routine and ability to talk with Swann continually eased her mind, Jayce was thinking hard on several fronts. Worrying about the strange mission on the icy moon was first and foremost, and she sincerely wished for the small groups safety; Jayce was alternately thinking over what Swann had said the previous night. _Until that broodmother is dead and gone_ was a particular point of interest. They could not physically go after the broodmother, or actually formulate a plan against it apparently. Their hands were tied.

There was nothing stopping Jayce from taking their problem into her own hands, however. To kill a broodmother though, that would take some planning. Jayce had never even seen a zerg of any type up close before, she wasn't positive if she could keep her cool if she did see this thing. _But I could free them._ "Sixth floor, northeast quadrant looks like it's got some kind of power leak. Adjutant will be patching the details through to you momentarily..."

The three drop pods shot through the atmosphere of Kaldir like meteors, piercing into the ice that covered their landing zone with a thunderous crash that echoed off the surrounding ice cliffs. Unbuckling from his seat, Warfield observed ice visibly seeping through the door, along with the temperature dropping at a tremendous rate. Worried that the door would get stuck from the building ice, he shouldered and kicked it open roughly. Tychus and Raynor had the same idea.

All three gasped in pain when the doors crashed down, feeling the warm air in their lungs being sucked away and replaced by painfully cold air was not a pleasant feeling.

"Sweet mother mercy..." Tychus had stumbled forwards and hunched, curling his arms to his bare chest in an attempt to preserve heat.

It hurt to speak, and Jim was reduced to a croaking whisper. "Remind me to kill Stetmann when we get back. Get used to it?" Shivering and angry, Jim reached up and touched the ear bud he had in place to speak with Horner. "Matt. We've touched down. Where to now?"

Warfield looked up and around, taking in the surroundings. The sky boasted a perpetual bleak dark gray color and thick snowflakes were beginning to settle on his clothing. All around they were surrounded by steep icy cliffs that jutted sharply into the sky. Their entrance may have made lots of noise within the canyon but none of that sound would have gotten out of it at least, odds of being detected were low so far.

Aboard the Hyperion, Matt was frowning as he listened to Jim. He had not anticipated so much interference to the comm system from the moon's continual bad weather. "Sir. Comms are not looking so good right now. There's only one path out of there, to the north of you, and it leads to a mess of ice valleys. You need to be careful- the ground is not safe and there are a lot of cave-ins apparent."

Pressing the ear bud further into his surely frozen solid ear, Jim scowled at the crackling and disjointed voice of Matt. "Getting a lot of interference, probably the weather. Sounds like we need to head north boys." Clenching his jaw to stop his teeth from clattering, Jim did note that his body temperature was adjusting- if he was a normal Terran he'd be deep into hypothermia by now. It was clear at a glance Warfield and Tychus were experiencing similar- though he did a quick double-take when Tychus hefted his rifle; he had forced his hands into the mittens which were stretched beyond belief and well over half the length his fingers went through the fabric with his claws. "I can't believe you put those on."

"I can't believe I'm down here half naked." Tychus snipped, stiffly trailing after Warfield and hissing as the thick skin at the bottom of his feet simultaneously melted snow and froze against it with every step.

"North is this way, lets get moving. Think I can see the trail Horner was talking about, too. Sooner we get this mission over with the sooner we can get the hell off this ice ball." Warfield pointed for a moment before firmly gripping his rifle and crunching through the snow and ice.

"S-smartest damn thing you've ever said, General." Tychus fell silent with the rest- the mission returning to the forefront of their minds. Something out there had killed Nafash, and they had no idea if it remained.

Falling into step, the three marched towards the twisting passage that was emerging ahead. It would lead them through the mountains, or so they hoped.

Grumbling to himself, Matt had tried to strengthen the signal to the ground team as much as he could, and with little success. "These aren't going to last." Regretful, he sat down in his captain's chair and closed his eyes, focusing.

_Jim._

A long pause and no answer.

_Jim?_ Uncertain, Horner opened his eyes and furrowed his brows in confusion. Their mental communication had yet to fail them.

_You are too weak to speak to them so far away, for now._ Shlassa gave Matt his answer, much to his agitation. _I can relay information to them, you need only think it._

Firmly gripping the arms of his chair, Horner stared at the poor footage of the three men that his scanners could pick up, just three small red dots making their way north. How could he trust Shlassa to not skew any information he wanted to relay? His thoughts were perhaps too vocal, and he quickly found himself listening to Shlassa's clearly agitated voice.

_I am to safeguard all of you. Getting them killed would be contrary to that._ _Besides. S_he paused. _Your Terran equipment is about to fail you._

_Alright. _Matt relented. He supposed the broodmother was right: there was no reason to distrust her when it came to the safety of the crew, minus Jayce. About to continue speaking, the voice of the adjutant brought him back to reality with a snap.

"Captain. A flash freeze is approaching."

"A what?" Horner mumbled dumbly, standing up and leaning over the console to look at the weather pattern arrayed. The temperature of the region was diving and approaching the three unknowing dots at an alarming rate. "Oh shit!"

_Shlassa! You need to tell them to seek shelter immediately! They need to preserve body heat or they are going to die!_

_No._ The broodmothers reply was as calm as it could be, completely unconcerned. In the lab she was holding Stetmann's concerned gaze evenly.

_You just said that their safety mattered to you!_

_They will not die. Zerg adapt._

Slamming his hand on the side of the console in anger, Matt opened the comm with his friends on the ground and prayed his message would get through.

The crunching of their feet and boots in the snow stopped. Raynor, Tychus and Warfield simultaneously pausing to listen to Horner's voice. All they could make out over the static was that he sounded close to frantic.

"That don't sound good. Whatever it is." Wary, Tychus brought his rifle at the ready and started looking around for any visible signs of danger.

Warfield and Raynor acted similarly, facing opposite directions at Tychus' left and right. "Somethin' got him spooked real good, keep your eyes peeled." Muttering, Raynor was almost thankful for the new extra keen eyesight he had been graced with, but all he could see was vast expanses of white and gray in all directions.

"Clear." Warfield lowered his rifle slightly, still looking regardless.

"Wait. You see that?" A movement to the north caught Jim's eye, and all of them looked in the direction he had.

"Hear somethin' too." Tychus mumbled. It was mixed up in the howling of wind flying through the spires of ice all around and above them, but there was a very distinct _cracking_ sound that was not there moments ago.

"Oh hell." Warfield whispered hoarsely. All three staring at what could only be described as a literal visual wall of cold rolled down from the icy spires in the north, coming at them at a terrifying pace.

_Brace yourselves._ Shlassa's whisper in their minds was almost unheard over Jim's yell. "Take cover!" As one, they ran towards a nearby crag- piling into one another behind it. There would be no escape from the flash freeze, however.

In a moments time after they reached their so-called cover, a howling abyss of ice and cold blasted over them, freezing the three men instantly. They were nothing but icy statues.

Horner had stared at the wall of snow and the fleeing dots of Jim, Tychus and Warfield. When their lights were snuffed out instantly, he felt as though his heart had been cut out.

_They are gone._

Though she was speaking to Horner in particular, Shlassa's superior tone was heard by all of her charges. _Adapt or die._

The intense storm left almost as fast as it had arrived, ravaging everything in its path as it always had and would continue to. Within a minutes time, snowflakes were beginning to cover the icy statues of Raynor, Tychus and Warfield. Ice beginning to crack and crumble disrupted the peaceful silence, and in a few more moments the spines jutting out of Raynor's back began to twitch, followed by the trembling and groaning of Warfield and Tychus.

Horner was staring at the map before him, completely lost. He was so focused on staring at nothing, he almost missed when each dot representing the men he thought dead flickered back to life. Eyes honing in on the oddity, Horner stared in disbelief.

_As I said, they adapt._ Shlassa sounded completely smug.

A throaty snarl erupted from Tychus as he lurched back to life, spraying shards of ice this way and that. He almost fell into Jim who was similarly breaking free and gasping for air, while Warfield did stumble into him and corrected himself as quick as he was able.

"**I hate being cold Jimmy.**" The many pupils in his eyes were constricted into tiny dots, and he looked especially crazed. It felt like a fire had lit up inside himself, and he wasn't sure if it was his overwhelming anger or his body adapting to save itself. Tychus decided he didn't care. All three leaned against the icy crag they had hid behind, recovering for a minute before regaining their bearings.

_The cold will come again, you should move quickly._ Shlassa's voice coaxed them to action, despite their misgivings about having just been living statues for a good minute.

"You heard the bug. Lets go." Jim straightened up and moved to adjust his gun, when it fell to pieces with a loud crack. "Ah what the hell..." One by one, they each noted their equipment simply crumbling into icy shards in their hands, disbelief written clearly on their faces.

"Well here's hopin' there ain't anything out there that can shoot us, 'cause we sure as hell ain't shootin' back!" Warfield griped, throwing his gear down in disgust. Their ear buds and microphones were discarded as well, dead as could be. It was probably the most distressing when their clothing shattered though. Tychus had curled his hands into fists and his already severely overtaxed mittens literally exploded into little icy fabric shards, and every article of clothing they had followed suit right after.

"There's... There's just nothin' for it I guess." Jim tried to grasp hold of some sort of reason to not have an outright shit fit, attempting to keep his cool more for Tychus and Warfield's sake. "Not the first time we've had to run somewhere naked, right Tychus?" His attempt at humor was met with a solid wall of seething silence, both from Tychus and the also newly exposed Warfield.

"Yeah. Lets get going." Uncomfortable, Jim took the lead and tried not to think about it. How did Sarah manage that? He wondered, even though it hurt to.

"The last thing I want to do." Tychus began stomping after Jim, quickly matching his pace and ending up beside him. "Is walk behind you when you are bare ass naked." Though Warfield didn't comment, he took up the space at Jim's left side, clearly echoing the sentiment. Their trek to the ice valleys beyond resumed.

Lassara enjoyed Kaldir, it was not a sentiment the majority of her fellow scientists echoed. The sun never shone, the flash freezes were intense and the Ursadons, ever hungry, were always pushing at the edges of their bases. Ursadon were a favorite species of hers, and though their mission was an attempt to see if they could turn Kaldir into a more hospitable place she often found herself wandering the ice tunnels and studying the great bear-like creatures. This was just such a time.

A Warp Prism, her transport, was hovering silently outside of a previously collapsed ice cave. The high tech machine was covered in a layer of snow and, excluding its softly glowing blue core, was almost impossible to detect visually. Lasarra had removed the debris from the collapsed tunnel herself and turned it into a small camp over her many visits to it. The Ursadons almost never came her way after the path had been gone for so long. It was in this camp she now resided, staring in concern at a seismic disturbance that had caused several small cave-ins and subsequently riled up the local Ursadon population.

_Lassara. How much longer must we tarry here?_ Arut, a Zealot who she considered a good friend and noble warrior, was her escort for this foray and he had no love for the Ursadons or the cold.

Blue glowing eyes smiling in merriment, she shook her head and continued watching the data being fed to her by one of many Observers. _Arut, you know I stay out here as long as the Judicator allows. There has been a disturbance, however._ Gesturing the sour warrior over to her side, Arut grudgingly followed along and looked.

_Cave-ins, Lassara. This icy moon is fraught with them, why is this disturbance any different than the many others?_

_Three tremors in quick succession. What kind of seismic disturbance do you think that is, Arut? That is not a normal pattern for ice shelves shifting, or even spires fracturing and falling. I think we should relay this information to the command center, just in case._ It was concerning, and if anyone knew about the chaotic nature of Kaldir's icy landscape it was the one protoss who loved exploring it.

_Judicator Holrim will not appreciate any false alarms. Let us simply monitor for the time being, Lassara. _Withdrawing from her side, Arut resumed his quiet vigil. His presence was almost decorative- never had they needed to harm a stray Ursadon lumbering their way. The beasts were easily soothed psychically and redirected elsewhere when not enraged. Lassara enjoyed his company anyway.

_As you wish, Arut._ Still, Lassara gazed at the information available to her with concern. She would equate it closer to impacts than actual seismic activity, maybe the weather observer would have something. Shifting gears, she discarded the tunnel observer with a quick swipe of her clawed fingertip across the translucent material of her datapad, rerouting to observer 23- a stationary unit that sat at the very top of the ice spires on the southern edge of the ice valleys.

The observer was recovering from a recent flash freeze and it would take time before it could send the technical and visual weather data Lasarra requested. Nothing for it but to wait.

On Korhal, Augustgrad, Nova Terra was cloaked and perched atop the rubble of a recently bombed out apartment complex, looking through the scope of her C-20A rifle. In her sights was a particularly ratty child scavenging through garbage, she could feel his hunger from afar. She could also feel the thoughts of a marauder destroyer squad marching ever closer. It was marshal law- anyone out after curfew was shot without mercy. Whispering softly, her finger got cozy with the trigger of her rifle. "Go back inside."

Unable to outright mind control the boy from such a distance, Nova contented herself with offering a much quicker violent end than the alternative that was coming his way- if he didn't leave fast enough that was. Marauder weaponry had a bad habit of maiming just as much as it did killing. It was with a measure of personal relief that an equally ragged, mud-stained woman grabbed up her son and ran into the ruins of their former home, no doubt squatting with many other displaced civilians. It had become too hard to tell who was innocent with the mass rebelling, and everyone was suffering for it.

Relaxing her stance, Nova returned to searching out as far as she could reach with her mind, filtering past the terror and malice that was radiating off of Mengsk's disgruntled subjects. Nova Terra had a mission here, and while she had certainly dispatched a few leading agitators herself, it was not to quell the more mundane civilian rebels. The Spectres, under Tosh's command after Jim Raynor- the fool, freed them, had come to the throne world with one goal: burning it to the ground around Mengsk. Nova was continuing her mission to hunt them down and stop them.

Returning to her home world had never been a problem before, not until the terrazine exposure. All the memories that had been gratefully scoured away had been coming back, the gas repairing the damage of the mind wipes. Even now the memories of being a ratty little child in the gutters were distracting, never mind the voices of all those who'd tasted death purposefully and inadvertently during those times. The general disenchantment of the majority of Dominion military, those who weren't resocs anyway, was also frustrating.

As soon as word came from on high about the upcoming press conference, a strong sense of foreboding had been seeping through the ranks, it had even begun to affect Nova herself. It was easier to remain loyal to the Dominion when your goal was to fight people who were so clearly hurting innocents, however. The Spectres had been responsible for the very rubble she was standing on, and though the trail was cold right now, she resolved to pick it up.

"See you boys real soon." Nova muttered, leaping and springing through the rubble towards the estimated area of detonation. Tosh himself was out there too, and that one was personal.

* * *

><p>Raynor did side with Tosh in this story, which means yes I made a booboo earlier on saying that Jayce was in a ghost suit- sorry! :C Lots of action coming up in the next chapter, let me tell you. I liked Lassara in the game which leaves me quite happy to have some fun and flesh her out in here! Oh yeah, let me know if switching between the different viewpointsstorylines is getting confusing. I'm trying my best to make it flow naturally but if I need to make it more clear I'll start separating them with lines or something, whatever is necessary.


	15. Chapter 15

** Kaldir - Ursadon tunnel camp**

Lassara held the datapad firmly, a rising sense of urgency ticking away while watching the progress of the weather observers recovery. When all its systems finally came online and information streamed once more, the realization of what those three impacts were hit hard.

_Arut! The three quakes, they were from Terran machines! _Arut had strode back to Lasarra quickly, watching the video footage in silence beside her.

_Only three? That is not typical Terran, they lack the technology to even survive on this moon._ Critical, Arut watched the three distant forms emerge from their drop pods. The observer had not zoomed in on the Terrans, as that was not its purpose; It did scan them from afar however, and quickly revealed each Terran to be thoroughly infested.

Feeling sick, Lasarra's voice was just a whisper in Arut's mind. _Infested Terrans! How terrible... We must inform the Judicator at once._ The information was already being routed to the main Nexus, where their warriors would be roused immediately.

_You have done well, Lassara. Lives may be saved because of your caution. Know that I will tell the Judicator myself of your role in this._ Arut was proud, any action that could save the lives of his fellow protoss was to be held in high regard.

_My thanks, Arut. I can't help but wonder at their motives however; what could the swarm desire on Kaldir? Did we miss something when the last of the hives were purged? _Brows furrowed in concern, Lasarra gazed out of the mouth of their cavern base and watched the never ending snows swirling violently.

_What reason do zerg do anything? They devour life, be it on some small icy moon or the mighty Aiur, and that is their only purpose Lasarra. To know more would be to tempt madness; only the foul corrupter, their Queen of Blades, truly knows of any other goals. _Arut was firm, rigid even, in his beliefs about the zerg; a sentiment echoed by most, if not all, protoss. Lasarra could not blame him and her own more malleable points of view had been the cause of disruptions before.

_As you say, noble warrior. This canyon that they landed in only has one exit, they may already be at the dead hive. _Deftly, Lasarra brought up a map of the region and charted the course she believed the infested to be taking, showing it to her companion. _We are the closest to this location by far. Would you like to meet the enemy in glorious combat? _Her eyes smiled, but Lasarra felt the strong desire to see zerg rent asunder by the superior protoss warrior.

_The warp prism is at the ready should I be summoned to battle, but do not so easily forget your place. _Arut chided, though he yearned for the glory of combat as much as any Zealot. _As a researcher you are precious, not to be thrown into the midst of combat._

_You are right, of course. _Lasarra tilted her head in acceptance. _Truthfully, the scouts the Judicator will send should be more than enough for three simple infested Terrans. They must not have detected our bases, else there would surely be a larger force._ While they spoke, the old footage of the infested played right until the observer became frozen by the flash freeze. They were long gone by the time it had recovered.

** Kaldir – Hive of Nafash**

Warfield was bringing up the rear of the small group. When they had finally acclimated to the brutal cold the old General privately admitted to himself that he had never felt so youthful and energetic, doubtless a zerg trait. The so-called path out of the canyon they landed in was closer to a series of shelves, layered close enough to one another that they could be climbed with little trouble.

They were scaling one such shelf right now. A chunk of rotten ice crunched loose under Tychus' foot when he put his weight on it, leaving him scrabbling for purchase with his shorter nails.

"Watch it, watch it!" Raynor called from above, swiping at Tychus' arm and attempting to stabilize his position while digging his nails into the ice he was clinging to.

Warfield was swinging across the face of the ice cliff to avoid being pummeled down by the falling debris Tychus was making with his feet, talons clattering and cutting chips out of the ice. One such piece hit his shoulder hard and nearly sent him tumbling, leaving him sending a blistering wave of curses up at Tychus. "Either get a grip or just fall damn you! You aren't going to die!"

Tychus grunted in pain when Raynor caught the meat of his forearm and dug his claws right in, holding fast. Secure in place, he tentatively sought out new footholds and sunk his nails as deep in as he could, glaring up at Jim while muttering clearly at Warfield. "See if I don't kick you off when I get to the top, armchair general." Blood was welling up past Jim's claws and all he could do was look apologetic when he tugged his hand free of Tychus' arm and resumed climbing.

"Sorry Tychus. Nafash's hive can't be far now."

"Armchair general? Son, I've been on more forays than you can-" Warfield was clearly getting worked up, Tychus no doubt having hit a nerve.

"Not the time gentlemen!" Raynor interrupted sharply before swinging his arm over the snowy ledge and pulling himself to safety. Quickly, he offered Tychus a hand up and together they helped Warfield. Straightening up, they looked down the gentle slope that lead to the dead and frozen zerg base before them. The snow was coming down in thick, endless waves and obscuring the full view; but they could vaguely see one of the claw-like spires of a hive looming above in the distance.

"Hm. Time to check in at hotel zerg." Tychus mumbled and started walking, gingerly palming the deep holes Jim had punched into the meat of his forearm. The blood flow had slowed and no longer dripped sluggishly down his armored skin, steaming against the bitter cold air until it froze. Wouldn't be long before it had healed up completely.

"Don't think we're gonna find a Wicked Wayne's in there." Jim chuckled, shaking his head.

"I feel like you boys got some stories to tell. Maybe when we get outta this mess you'll fill me in." Warfield had to admit to himself he wanted to be able to join in on Jim and Tychus' humor more, or at least know what the hell they were referring to half the time.

"General, when we're off this ice rock I'll tell you all the stories you like. But for now," They had come down the hill at a quick pace and were walking over frozen creep, revealed by wind continually blowing the snow away. An entrance to the hive loomed ahead of them, frozen over completely. "lets get this done. You wanna handle that Tychus?" Gesturing at the iced over door vaguely, Jim and Warfield looked at the big man questioningly.

"How come whenever somethin' needs liftin' or breakin', everyone comes cryin' to old Tychus?" Regardless of his griping, Tychus stepped up to the frozen maw.

"Because you're built like an SCV? Might as well play the part, partner." Raynor winced slightly when Tychus brought his fists down in an overhead smash against the wall of ice. Though his fists left an impression and a great amount of cracks had become visible, the ice had not given in.

"Put your back into it son." Warfield chuckled with good humor at Tychus' struggle, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"If you ever think I'm goin' to another planet, moon, whatever, with snow again Jimmy..." Tychus threw his fists against the ice with renewed vigor, so hard that chunks sprayed out and the ice groaned in warning. "You're damn wrong!" Jerking back, he slammed his shoulder into the ice- feeling it beginning to give. One final violent heave sent him tumbling into the hive as the false door shattered inwards and a surge of air entering the sealed structure helped keep him off balance.

Stepping up to the open door, Warfield and Raynor looked into the dark at Tychus. "You alright?" Raynor called cautiously. It was a steep decline into the living structure and everything had a thick layer of ice. Warfield sunk his talons into the wall and began to lower himself down while Tychus groaned and struggled to his feet.

"Just freakin' peachy, partner."

While Jim cautiously followed Warfield, giving him plenty of room to maneuver, he focused on Shlassa. _Any idea where Nafash might be in here?_

Shlassa was listening, as Jim and co. were not capable of communicating over such long distances yet either. _If Nafash was pursued into the hive, she would lead them as deep as possible. She could have been killed anywhere inside, however._

Huffing in annoyance, Jim muttered. "So the answer is no, just great."

"Not going to find this thing just standing around. Maybe we can find the path it took? The hive may have been damaged by whatever was chasing it and it's more than cold enough here to freeze the structure like that." Warfield offered, looking down the narrow corridors that stretched in all directions from the crossroads they stood at. It was the truest form of darkness inside the hive, the only light was dim and spilling in behind them from the doorway they had opened.

Nodding agreeably, Jim gestured down a corridor of his choice. "Sounds like a plan. We can split up and make this go faster, speak up if you find anything boys." They each started cautiously walking down their own halls, their nails tapping and sliding against ice and frozen chitin making an eerie skittering noises echo around them.

"At least it ain't all wet 'n nasty in here." Tychus lamented as he ducked through a partially frozen shut fleshy doorway.

Traveling through the insides of a dead hive was a macabre experience. All around, Warfield imagined the walls pulsing and flexing while the structure gurgled and hissed. None of the three men had ever been inside a hive like this; the way it had stilled in death and frozen over was unnerving, never mind the pitch black they could only see in by the good grace of their new forms.

Uneasy, Warfield reached out with his thoughts as he carefully climbed down a dark, thin tunnel that angled downwards steeply. He could just imagine smaller zerg sliding up and down the slime-coated muscles while it was still alive, and it left him grimacing.

_You know, I haven't seen a single dead zerg here. Where did they go? _Not a single dead body or even signs of a battle had come up yet.

Tychus had come to a stop, glaring at a sealed shut doorway. Grimacing, he couldn't help but think the door looked a lot like an orifice. He supposed it was. "I ain't touchin' that..." Muttering and turning around, he paused and listened to Warfield before nodding slightly himself.

_General has the right of it, this place is a graveyard but no ones home. I'm at a dead end here, gonna double back._

Jim had an ill feeling the deeper into the hive he went and it came to a head when he found another iced shut doorway where he figured there should have been no connection to the outside. Tugging a spine free from his thigh, its familiar crunch sound amplified by the fact it had become coated in ice, Jim gripped it tight before smashing it deeply into the ice. As suspected, a new flow of cold air erupted from the hole he had made when he pulled the spine free. Continuing the assault, Jim hacked away at the ice to weaken it while focusing on Tychus and Warfield.

_Think I mighta found somethin', hang on a minute. _After several more holes were punched through the ice, Jim shouldered it roughly and almost fell through before catching his footing. Blackened eyes widening, he surveyed the scene before him with dread. _Figured out what got rid of the zerg._

_Protoss!_ Shlassa hissed angrily into their minds.

The north face of the hive had been obscured to them when they came down from the hills, so they couldn't have seen what had surely been the killing blow to the hive; its flesh and chitin had been melted away straight to the core. Normally, a hive would collapse at the kind of damage Raynor was surveying, but a flash freeze must have hit and froze it in its final moments. "Bet I know who's down there." With a new sense of urgency, Jim began the descent down the literal guts of the structure to the center of the hive where he could see an opening.

Both Warfield and Tychus had wordlessly doubled back and came running down the path Jim had taken, moving as though the protoss themselves had arrived and given chase.

Stumbling down the steep V shaped slope, Jim barely caught himself from sliding and falling directly into the cavern below. Grasping on to a frozen ridge of flesh, Jim cautiously leaned over the mouth of the hole and looked down. There, coated in snow and frozen in death, was Nafash's corpse in the center of what appeared to have been some sort of birthing chamber, maybe where the hive generated its larvae in life.

_Found Nafash. When you boys get to the open door, come down into the pit below._ It was a long fall, but Jim felt confident in his new form- he wouldn't be broken upon landing. With that thought, he let go and swung down into the dark.

Nafash had been butchered. Jim landed nimbly and approached the dead creature with no small amount of revulsion. Several of her legs had been severed neatly by energy weapons- most likely the psi blades of zealots, and from the base of the dead broodmother's neck all the way to its lower body had been eviscerated. Warfield and Tychus were leaping down and landing heavily nearby while Jim was observing the carcass.

"So this is Nafash, huh? Can't say I'm sorry to see it dead." Tychus straightened up from the crouch he had landed in and sauntered over to look at the killing blow curiously. "Them Protoss sure don't mess around."

Shaking off some snow that was melting into slush, Warfield came up to the corpses side opposite of Jim and frowned. Nafash's abdomen, filled with that familiar almost glowing green goo, was drawing both his and Jim's attention.

**Hyperion – Kaldir low orbit**

Matt could feel Shlassa seething about something and was trying to ignore it. He was watching the adjutant continually adjusting the ships sensors in an attempt to pierce the weather of Kaldir and start providing essential surveillance for the ground team. It was severely grating to be both blind and reliant on Shlassa for any news regarding Jim, Warfield and Tychus.

As if on cue, the angry broodmother invaded Horners thoughts. _They have discovered Nafash's body. It was protoss that killed her._

"Protoss..." Horner muttered, a sense of dread building up inside as the intense weather pattern of the flash freeze came on to the screen and howled towards the three men once again. _Shlassa, a flash freeze is approaching. Let them know._

Chittering angrily in Stetmann's lab, Shlassa felt the stirrings of psionic energy the protoss were known for. Though the broodmother herself had never entered combat against the great enemy, the memories of millions who had were at her fingertips. _Much worse than a flash freeze is coming, Terran. The protoss are still here on Kaldir!_

Sitting heavily in his chair, Matt combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. _We need to get them and get out of here Shlassa._

_They have killed Nafash! Destroyed her brood! This cannot go unpunished!_

_Listen here Shlassy. _Swann entered their conversation, rough and to the point like always. _The Hyperion does not stand a chance against even a small amount of Protoss ships right now. So unless you want us all getting blown to hell, we need to get those three jokers back on this ship and get the hell outta here._

Stubborn and mad, Shlassa clenched her spidery fists and bristled. _I don't have to answer to you! Our Queen has given us a mission and one of ours has been killed. This is the way of the zerg, of the swarm!_ Their bickering continued, even while several protoss Scouts slid through the sky towards the decimated zerg base.

** Kaldir -** **Hive of Nafash**

"Doesn't really look frozen, does it?" Jim's question hung in the frigid air as he tentatively reached out to touch the bright green flesh of Nafash's abdomen. Before his hand reached its destination, a clearly agitated Shlassa spoke.

_Terrans! A flash freeze approaches, but we have discovered a Protoss base that has wakened nearby. They know you are here. It is time! Rouse the hive and bring the might of the zerg down on these Protoss who dare kill our own!_

_Uh, hate to break it to you but this here hive is dead._ Tychus stated simply, glancing at Warfield and Raynor with a quirked brow.

_No, fool. Life and death do not matter, only essence. You will assimilate Nafash's essence and gain what immunity she and her brood had to the flash freeze. Hurry!_

Jim felt control of his body leave him as Shlassa took over. The urgency of the situation called for haste and she wasn't willing to watch them fool around.

"Wait, Jimmy you ain't gonna-" Both Tychus and Warfield reeled in disgust and Jim's clawed hand plunged through the flesh of the dead broodmother, green goo spilling out around it as he sunk his arm into her body to the elbow.

"That ain't right!" Warfield only had a second before he too was taken over, leaving Jim stumbling backwards and looking at his gooey limb in shock. The sound of Warfield digging into the other side of the corpse was disturbing, crunching mixed with the wet sloshing of thick liquid.

"Oh no, you're not doin' that to me no w-" Tychus had tried to step away, to raise some kind of mental defense against the grip of the broodmother, but she was having none of it. Warfield stumbled away from the corpse and Tychus shambled into place where he had stood, forced to plunge both his arms up to the elbow into the body.

The smell from the goo, thankfully never capable of rotting in the arctic temperatures, was extremely vile and was stinging their eyes and noses. Tychus ripped his arms out of the body and stumbled away much like Warfield and Raynor had, attempting to come to grips with what just happened.

Shlassa was merciless. _Her essence is now yours. It is time for you to fight._

With the initial shock wearing off quickly, Jim shook his arm, flinging goo away and trying not to retch. He was about to lay into Shlassa when he really felt what the broodmother was saying- the green corpse goo had begun to seep through his flesh and he could feel his core temperature rising. Stifling his anger, Jim attempted to reason instead. _Shlassa, if our mission was to find out what happened to Nafash and assimilate this essence, then it is complete and we need to leave. Fast._

Attempting to ignore the sound of Tychus retching on the other side of the corpse, there was a different sound that caught Jim's attention.

"I hear it too." Following Jim's train of thought, Warfield looked upwards. It was a humming sound, familiar.

Leaping to action, Jim ran around Nafash to Tychus and grabbed his slippery slime-coated arm and started hauling his big friend away from the opening in the top of the cavern. "Ships! Hide, fast!" Warfield ran over and attempted to help get Tychus moved, but the big man shook them both off angrily and ran for the wall with them in tow. They settled behind the caved in shells of eggs and watched the dark sky above warily.

_Shlassa, listen. There is a time to fight and a time for flight, this is the latter. I know the Protoss and I know the status of the Hyperion- we will not survive a confrontation right now. _Jim wasn't too proud to plead; it was as much about saving protoss lives as it was their own. The sleek golden hull of a single protoss Scout obscured what little light the pale gray sky offered, hovering above the hive.

_This is not the time to argue. We're the ones down here risking our asses- let us make the damn decisions, Shlassa! If we're good at anything, it's dealing with these situations._ Warfield chimed in, hoping to help sway the broodmother so they could focus on their current predicament faster.

There was a long pause between the three men, waiting for either the broodmother or the protoss ship to act first. It was a relief when Shlassa spoke. _As you say. The flash freeze is almost upon you, the Protoss ship will be rendered helpless until it is over. You can safely leave in a moment._ Shlassa reasoned to herself that, indeed, the Queen of Blades had chosen these Terrans for good reasons; letting them have free reign had been going well so far and she could bring the hive to life herself if the situation became worse.

"Jimmy." Tychus whispered, trying to keep quiet. "There ain't no doors outta this room! We gotta get back up through that hole somehow." It was true, all paths out had collapsed in on themselves long ago.

"Quiet you moron, who knows if that ship has sensors that can hear you or not." Warfield whispered harshly and the two exchanged a glare while Jim stared hard at the ship, willing it to go away. They would have no such luck, however. As the Scout slowly rotated around the pit above the center of the hive, the three men saw the blue energy pattern of a scan moving across the inside of the cavern; There was no time to move away from it before they had been detected.

"Run!" Jim shouted as the Scout spun to face them, its twin cannons glowing to life before firing rapidly. Scattering from behind the broken eggs, the three barely avoided the first barrage that left their cover in shattered smoking ruins.

"When's that damn freeze coming?!" Tychus yelled over the sudden loud noise. The Scout had honed in on him and he was barely avoiding its shots by forcing the ship to twist at odd angles to keep its aim.

Reverting to mental communication, although he was not sure if the protoss could hear it or not, Jim could hear the raging storm coming and made a quick decision. _Warfield get to the center on top of that broodmothers corpse! Tychus, when the freeze hits you're gonna use us to jump up! _Sure enough, the Scout did not switch off from Tychus when Warfield leaped onto the back of Nafash's corpse and braced himself. The protoss could not hear their communication.

As the flash freeze hit and poured into the chamber, howling and raging, the Scout was rendered frozen instantly. The ship freely dropped several feet before its emergency super-heated thrusters roared to life- specifically designed to counter the flash freezes. The pilot and the rest of the ships systems, however, remained frozen. It had fallen so far that the golden nose of the Scout was resting inside the cavern, the ship at a 90 degree angle from the ground.

Tychus broke away from the outer rim of the cavern and charged towards Warfield and Jim who was balancing on top of his shoulders, it was a little worrying to think about the mechanics of hurling someone as heavy as Tychus upwards, but Jim decided to let the zerg DNA do the talking and braced himself as the flash freeze washed over them.

As he leaped ontop of Nafash's body and planted his bare foot on Warfield's knee, it was like time slowed to a crawl for Tychus. The flash freeze had hit and he felt the heat of his body being sucked away, only to be rapidly replaced by even more intense heat as their newly adapted bodies struggled to generate more than what was being taken. He almost missed his second step upwards to Jim's bent knee as his functions slowed dramatically but his momentum did not.

A split second later, time resumed almost as normal when their bodies had fully acclimated. Letting out a gutteral roar, Tychus all but flew up Raynor and sprung off his shoulders into the air. Warfield and Jim were left tumbling like dominos from the force of the jump, but Tychus was not going to make it all the way.

Seeing what was happening, he began flailing outwards in panic until he collided with the nose of the Scout with a metallic clang, his claws generating a screeching sound as they dug into the metal like flesh and he slid a few feet downwards before coming to a jarring stop.

"Haha! WOO!" Jim yelled from below, pumping his fist in triumph as he lay on the frozen ground. Warfield gave a sharp clap and laughed as he stood back up, but they quickly sobered and climbed back on to the dead broodmother.

"Hang in there Tychus, we gotta climb up you!" Jim yelled, getting situated on Warfield's shoulders and ready to spring.

"Hurry the hell up! This freeze ain't gonna last forever!" Tychus worriedly stared down the nose of the ship into the blue glowing eyes of the Scout's pilot.

"You gonna be able to jump high enough by yourself, General?" Jim quirked a brow, looking down at Warfield who had the good grace to look offended.

"If he could make it, I damn sure can with nearly twelve less feet to jump." He had a point and so Jim shrugged and pumped his legs hard, throwing his arms up at the height of the jump for extra momentum. The result was Tychus' nails screeching down a few more inches of the ship and his panicked readjustment while Jim dangled off his ankle.

"Alright old boy, you can do this..." Warfield muttered to himself, eyeing Jim's legs and getting ready to jump.

"Time is tickin', General!" Jim called in warning, looking down at Warfield sharply. Without need of further prodding, Warfield leaped upwards- a great gust of air from the storm howling around them actually allowing him to overshoot his mark moderately and end up half way up Jims back.

"Agh, just go!" Jim tossed his head back in pain when Warfield's talons dug straight into his back, but there was nothing for it. Warfield scrabbled up Jim, Tychus and part of the protoss ship before landing at the edge of the icy maw and offering help to his two teammates. It felt like forever but was only the work of a few moments for all three of them to be on their feet and running- the coating of ice on the Scout had already began to slough off and the ship was struggling to life as the storm raged past.

Tychus looked over his shoulder and cursed as the Scout began to right itself and piece together where they went. "Hope you ain't tired, cause we're about to be runnin' for our lives in a second here!"

_Shlassa!_ Jim called with some urgency as he quickly helped Warfield and Tychus clear the ruins of the hive and start running hard to the west- the closest collection of icy spires and crags where they could take cover and maybe lose their pursuers.

_You are the one who chose to not kill that ship, Terran! Your job is not yet done. You must find an Ursadon Matriarch and consume its essence to finish the acclimation process, Nafash had not collected enough to be completely immune before she was killed.  
><em>

"Shoulda just killed that damn ship Jimmy!" Tychus snarled and though Warfield kept quiet he privately agreed. Neither had any particular love for the aliens.

"Not if I can help it, damn it!" Jim snapped, focusing on keeping one foot ahead of the other and not getting fouled up on deceptively uneven ground. The Scout had picked up their trail and was in pursuit, it would be able to fire on them awfully soon. _Where the hell is a damn Ursadon Matriarch then? We need to get some cover or this Scout is gonna be shootin' fish in a barrel real soon!_

Shlassa was not very caring of their plight- it was their own fault after all; but letting them die was not an option either. Using their current position and her own considerable ability to feel the landscape and other lifeforms around them, Shlassa nodded slightly to herself before offering up their escape plan. _The Ursadons live in ice tunnels all around and below you. Ahead you will find at least one cavern opening, choose any and the ships will not be able to pursue you._

_**Ships?**_ Tychus asserted, wanting to make sure he had not misheard the plural- but it quickly became clear he hadn't as two more Scouts came into view, golden and menacing against the gray sky, approaching from their left and right. The curses that came from the three could scour paint off walls.

"Raynor, you start shooting at them or I'm going to shoot you at them!" Warfield yelled tensely as he leaped over a deep hole in the ice. Their pace had slowed considerably because of how broken up and uneven the ground had become and before Jim had time to consider their options, or lack thereof, the sound of three cannons firing simultaneously filled the air.

The Scouts had surrounded them, attempting to cover as much ground with their cannons as possible. As Jim, Tychus and Warfield tumbled, leaped and ran in multiple directions to spread the fire out, the ground began to groan and shake. Jim pulled a spike from his back and hurled it at the nearest Scout just as he fell into a freshly opened crevasse with a startled yell, only delivering a glancing blow to the machines shield.

"Jimmy?! Warfield, over here!" Tychus yelled while slipping between two close shelves of ice that were shifting of their own accord, snow and ice chips showering this way and that from the cannon fire. Without hesitation, he charged towards the hole Jim had fallen into and entered feet first- jagged shards of ice scraping against his shoulders and legs as he passed through the tight space.

As the three Scouts lost two of their targets, they all turned to focus on Warfield as he zigzagged and ran as hard as he could towards the spot where he last saw Tychus. Unfortunately evading the fire of three ships was damn near impossible and searing pain exploded from his right shoulder, along with a spray of blood and hallucinogenic paste, when an energy cannon hit true. Off balance from the blow, he fell into the dark head first and barely managed to twist his body enough to hopefully land on his uninjured side against whatever was waiting below.

Jim's forehead dashed off the sheer wall of ice hard, having tried to tuck it into his chest for protection, right before crashing through to his new unknown position. The result of the jarring action was Jim ending up tossing his head backwards in pain and throwing his whole body out of position for the landing. When Jim's back hit the ground, followed by the rest of his body weight, the sound of all the air being forced out of his lungs echoed off in multiple directions around him.

Breathing heavily and staring up through the crack in the ceiling of the ice tunnel he had fallen into, Jim's eyes widened in panic when he heard the telltale sound of Tychus yelling above. Attempting to roll to the side proved useless, his spines had jammed into the ground and were effectively pinning him in place.

Trying to slow his fall by fanning his hands out and dragging his fingertips down the wall had proven very painful and Tychus quickly settled for keeping his balance. Gaze focusing downwards, it became apparent almost too late that Jim was flat on his back and not moving. Clenching his jaw and focusing, Tychus came spilling out of the frozen fissure with a rain of knife-like shards and a bellow. Spreading his legs just wide enough for his feet to plant on either side of Jim's body, gravity slammed him down to his hands and knees directly after. Sucking in a ragged breath, Tychus looked down at Jim and noted his eyes were clenched shut. "Not dead yet, I hope?"

Eyes snapping open in disbelief at not being crushed, Jim stared at Tychus' collar bone and let out a weak chuckle. "I'm stuck, but alive."

"Stuck?" Eyes narrowing, Tychus looked over Jim with a critical eye, thankfully still able to see in the pitch black.

"The spikes, Tychus." Sighing in annoyance and raising his arm in an attempt to shove the several hundred pound man child off, neither men were prepared for Warfield to come crashing in silently. Tychus' body slammed flat against Jim's without mercy as he took the full brunt of the collision and both let out pained shouts. Warfield's body bounced off of Tychus' back and landed nearby with a dull thud.

Making a weak distressed noise that caused his voice to crack, Tychus' rolled off Jim and lay on his side. "My back." Unable to say anything more colorful, he focused on sucking in air and recovering, much like Jim.

Blackness had taken Warfield's vision during his fall, the painful burning of the Scout's energy weapon wasn't comparable to any pain he had experienced in his lifetime. Crashing into Tychus and landing directly on his charred shoulder wound had jarred the General back to a painful wakefulness, however. Sluggishly rolling to his back, Warfield muttered. "You boys alive? Took a hit up there, good thing I fell into the hole."

Certain that he could feel bones returning to their rightful positions and re-knitting, Jim remained silent except for his forceful breathing.

A snort and a wave of rancid, hot air hit Tychus' in the face. Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes and saw a great white beast with beady eyes and some of the biggest teeth he'd ever seen glaring down at him only a few feet away. "Shit." Tychus whispered and started to rise with his elbow but froze when the Ursadon stamped a clawed foot in warning. Warfield wasn't back among the living yet but Jim began to stir in alarm, sensing something was wrong.

_There's a damn Ursadon right here, Jimmy. _ Erring on the side of caution, Tychus reverted to mental communication while staring the Ursadon down.

Instead of Jim responding, however, Shlassa intervened. _Stetmann says that Ursadon will most likely attack you if you appear weak or are in its territory. Be cautious._

_Careful, Tychus. _Jim warned. _Warfield is out and I'm still stuck._

"Always up to ol' Tychus to save the day." Muttering and cautiously raising himself to a crouch despite the warning growling and stomping of the Ursadon, Tychus faced off with the creature.

**Kaldir – Ursadon tunnel camp**

Urut and Lassara stood watching the infested Terrans through the recording sensors on the first Scout that had arrived to cleanse them. When the flash freeze hit- thankfully their camp was far enough away to not experience it, Lassara began to feel concern.

_Why are the infested not attacking back?_

Urut's brow furrowed slightly, waiting for the footage to resume. _They must not have any weapons or projectiles. All the better, the Scout is safe._

Eyeing the spine-covered Terran, Lassara couldn't help but feel differently... A strange feeling of deja vu tickled at the back of her mind every time she looked towards him, though it was certain they had never met. Lasarra had never met a Terran, or an infested. When the sensors were restored and the Scout was left reeling into the air to look for its targets, even Arut shifted slightly in discontent at the turn of events.

Two more Scouts coming across the icy plains towards the small group of infested put both Protoss at ease. There was nowhere for the three to run, all directions were covered and there was nowhere to hide.

As the three Scouts began firing down upon the infested, Arut's voice was low. _For Aiur._

_For Aiur._ Lassara echoed, but with much less fervor. Lasarra almost reached to turn the feed off when the ice began to shift visually, followed by a much more real rumbling and trembling of the earth around herself and Arut.

_Out of the cave!_ Realizing what was happening, Arut nearly dragged Lassara out of the cave by her arm before she fully committed to running. Hiding beneath the Warp Prism, ready to escape should the ground around them become unstable, they watched the feed Lassara was clenching firmly in her hands.

_They have fallen into the Ursadon tunnels!_ The three infested had fallen through the unstable ground in the time it took for Arut and Lassara to run to safety, and the Protoss researcher was clearly distressed at the thought. _Arut, we can't let them infest the Ursadons- no creature deserves such a fate!_

Though he did not physically sigh, the slight dip of the Zealots shoulders was telling. _Lassara. Surely you don't expect the two of us to go into the very heart of Ursadon territory and hunt down three infested Terrans who may or may not have survived falling into the tunnels?_

_We are the closest by far! _Protesting, Lassara glared at her partner then. _If the thought of meeting the enemy galls you so- I shall do it by myself! _Shouldering past Arut without another word, Lassara briskly strode through the snow back into the base camp- which had thankfully not collapsed. She was already stepping past the camp and deeper into the cave when Arut physically halted her with a strong hand on her shoulder.

_Sister, it does not gall me to meet the enemy; it does to think that you can be so rash about simple creatures. _Letting his hand fall from her shoulder, as he now had her attention, Arut peered past her into the dark. _To possibly throw your life away in an attempt to save some beasts? Lunacy. _Lassara's shoulders dipped and her long nerve cords followed suit. Arut would surely put an end to this and the Ursadons would suffer. _But brave._ He continued. _Braver than a researcher has any right to be. You are my charge and I would not be so negligent as to let you meet the enemy alone, but know this: You will listen to my commands. If I tell you to run, you will. Understand? _Arut's gaze pinned her, waiting for an answer.

Not sure she heard correctly, Lassara tilted her head slightly before determination bloomed across her smooth features and through their connection. _Understood. Let us bring peace to these infested and save the Ursadon, together._

Without need of further confirmation, the two ran into the dark together- lead by the datapad in Lassara's hands and their combined psionic might feeling out far ahead for signs of life.

* * *

><p>Happy New Years everybody, hope 2015 is treating you well so far. Man, this chapter gave me so much trouble! In order for it to be posted I've settled for just not being happy with it and moving on. Tried out making it more clear when the whole scene shifts to another place for clarity purposes, but not sure if I really like how that turned out either. Let me know if you like it, would you?<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

**Zerus – first spawning pool**

It did not take long for the remainder of Brakk's pack, fighting with Yagdra's for survival, to shift focus and begin assaulting the aliens who killed their leader. Yagdra, sensing an opportunity, directed her own pack to attack from the east and southeast. If anything could unite the primal zerg, it was the chance of killing the Queen of Blades while she was vulnerable and shoving the swarm zerg off their planet.

_Izsha! _Zagara, currently leading a roaming pack of mutalisks and hydralisks to support the front lines, was feeling a fatigue she didn't know was possible. _The enemy has broken through the boulders to the south of the Chrysalis! _Even now, a stream of ground forces were tearing up the mountain pass straight for the swarm's vulnerable leader. Left with no choice, Zagara withdrew her forces from the western front- which was still under heavy attack by Brakk's pack, and made to intercept.

Overseeing unit production and resource collection of four hives was Izsha, physically injecting essence into larvae eggs to make them spawn faster. It just wasn't enough. _We cannot withstand such attacks for much longer! Our hives can only bring forth new zerg so fast._

_Where is Abathur? _Zagara snapped, impaling a primal zergling on a long spine with prejudice. The evolution master had been conveniently missing since their duty to defend the Queen began.

_He was here, studying the spawning pool. I do not know where he went._ Izsha admitted, pausing before speaking again with heightened urgency. _Our western defense has fallen. _An enraged mass of mixed primal zerg were entering the first spawning pool and approaching the Chrysalis, Zagara responded by splitting her remaining force in two and attempting to hold the enemy at bay across the bubbling battlefield.

The shrieking, bellowing and roaring coming from all the combatants was deafening and all-consuming. No one detected the rising bubbling of the pool or the telltale buzzing, but who would pay attention to that when fighting for their lives?

Desperate, Zagara looked around at her brood being torn apart and feasted upon, like a dam caving in on itself. _My Queen... We have failed. _Though secure in believing herself defeated, Zagara continued to mend what few of her brood remained and kept fighting. When a lumbering beast, similar to an ultralisk without its signature kaiser blades, bore down on the broodmother, she stood her ground.

It was no small surprise when the green bubbling fluid they were fighting in erupted upwards into the sky explosively- billions of flying insects unleashed in a focused tidal wave of consumption.

_Study of catalytic fluid of pool proved useful. Locusts will devour primal zerg._ Abathur spoke in his usual matter-of-fact tone as a symbiote of his creation manifested itself on Zagara's back and began rapid reparation of her damaged flesh while the primal ultralisk that was a step away from impaling her was covered, screaming, head to toe in locusts and devoured- along with the entire invading force on the plateau.

Zagara stared around in wonder as the plateau was cleared off in a matter of moments and the locusts fell dead to the ground as their lifespans ran out, covering it in their corpses. Izsha, not having witnessed the event, spoke calmly.

_Abathur, your intervention was most timely. I can replenish our forces before more primal zerg arrive, I only hope it will be enough to last._

_Essence required to create locust swarm regenerates quickly. Can use again. _Burrowed safely beneath the battlefield, Abathur left to inspect the outcropping he had been looking at creating another base at before their defenses had begun crumbling. His long, slug-like body squeezed through a thin fissure in the earth as he cautiously peered around. "Outpost too far. Further points of defense necessary. Not enough resources to be worthwhile." Muttering to himself, Abathur paused when a shape in the east caught his sight. A creature, not like any he had yet encountered, stood atop a cliff and was clearly returning the observing gaze. Abathur yearned to feast on it, to analyze strands and take what was useful, discarding the useless.

Inside her Chrysalis, Kerrigan dreamed. So much had been stripped away and built anew, but the Primal Queen of Blades was almost ready to be reborn- and all of Zerus was beginning to feel it.

**Bucephalus – Kaldir Low Orbit**

Valerian's ship had warped in some distance from Kaldir and was carefully maneuvered to orbit the moon far enough away from the Hyperion to avoid detection, for the time being. The protoss presence had been noted early on, the Bucephalus' superior scanners and full staff far outstripping the older Hyperion facilities. The fugitive prince now stood with his back to the view of the moon, preparing to make contact with the protoss and hopefully peaceful negotiations.

"Sir! Activity has been detected. The protoss bases are becoming combat active." Captain Vaughn announced, stressing the situation further.

"Hail the protoss base and put the transmission on screen." Clenching his fine jaw for a moment before relaxing it, Valerian wished that Jim himself was there- no man knew more about the protoss and their customs than he did; But his own knowledge and skill at diplomacy would have to do. When the alien face of a stern-looking Judicator, looking decorative in his smooth golden armor, appeared- Valerian could feel the suspicion radiate through the psionic words sent.

_Terrans. You are not familiar to us, and you appear in a battle ship. Is it war you seek?_

"No!" Raising his hands in a placating gesture, Valerian quickly plead his case. "We have been tracking the Hyperion, a Terran vessel, and are strictly following it until otherwise noted. There is no need for us to fight, perhaps we can be of assistance?"

Glowing blue eyes narrowed to slits, the Judicator raised a screen displaying the Hyperion in orbit. _This ship?_

Wary, Valerian nodded slightly. "The very same. Jim Raynor is aboard that ship, and-"

_Jim Raynor, his ship and his people, are infested to the core. They have landed on Kaldir and are unleashing havoc as we speak. They will be purged._ The Judicator paused, skeptically eyeing the young prince. _You may assist us in the Hyperion's destruction, if you wish to express your good will._

Suppressing a wince, Valerian's mind raced. "We believe they can be saved, and with your assistance we could capture them safely- your technology far outstrips ours. From what we've observed, they are not aggressive and possibly have full control of themselves."

_Infestation cannot be reversed. If the firstborn are unable to undo it, you terrans absolutely cannot. Jim Raynor is an honorable warrior, he does not deserve the fate of becoming a test subject- or left to be a puppet of Kerrigan._ Hatred and a deep pain seethed through the Judicator's words, the loss of Jim Raynor was just another great tragedy to be laid at Kerrigan's feet. _If you do not wish you assist us in their destruction, then stand aside. Or would you defend such abominations?_

Men and women both looked at Valerian, his crew, and awaited his response just as expectantly as the Judicator.

**Hyperion – Kaldir Low Orbit**

A flurry of activity had erupted on the Hyperion. Horner and Swann had begun moving infested through the ship to battle stations as fast as possible, and Shlassa had set aside the argument to assist them.

"Damnit!" Swann cursed. He was attempting to make some final reparations to the on-display Medivac in the armory so that he could pick up the ground team as fast as possible and it was proving very hard to concentrate on physically taking action while directing so many infested and doing manual tasks on them to boot. Resting his head on the pilot seat and closing his eyes, Swann sighed.

_Captain, I don't think any of our ships can handle going down to that moon._

Horner replied waspishly, experiencing similar difficulties. _What? How the hell are we going to get them back up here, Swann?!_

_I don't know. _Tensing up in frustration, Swann hated not having the answer.

_I will wake the hive and create an overlord for them to ride._ Shlassa stated simply.

Frowning and clenching the arms of his chair, Horner thought about it. _I absolutely do not want to bring that hive to life, but if we have to in order for them to get out then we will. _

_What other choice do you have, Terran? Your machines fail you once again._

_Talk to the damn protoss, Horner! _ Swann insisted. _Hail them and see if we can work somethin' out._

_There's more chance of the protoss agreeing to join the swarm than letting us go without a fight, Swann. _Tilting his head back and looking at the ceiling, Horner frowned. Without another thought, he stood up and walked to the comm array and attempted to hail the protoss base. Swann was right, every attempt should be made to get out of this peacefully- even if the protoss had already gone on the offensive against the ground team.

As soon as Jayce had caught wind of the protoss readying to attack, she began rifling through the living quarters of every medical personnel she could recall. It was jarring to see memorabilia showing now infested or dead people alive and happy, but nothing could make you more focused than threat of death at times.

Slamming a small dresser drawer shut and panting from all the running, Jayce slapped the datapad on her belt and scribbled her way to an open comm with Stetmann. "Egon!"

Stetmann had been strictly focused on moving and forcing infested to function, and frowned as he lost his grip on a handful of them when Jayce's voice blared into the Laboratory. "Jayce. Now isn't really the best time-"

"I need my arm back Stetmann! I can't help like this!" Lifting her arm for emphasis, though the scientist couldn't see it, Jayce scowled.

"We don't have any medical supplies Jayce, we've been over this. If it wasn't bolted down it went to Char." Frustrated, Stetmann hovered his finger over the button that would end the call, tempted.

An epiphany struck Jayce then, and she felt truly foolish for not having thought about it until now. "I know you have that tricked out, wacky looking medic suit. You had it fully stocked and ready to deploy for Char when the commander was deciding whether to attack the infested space station or to blow up the tunnels. Where is it now?"

Stetmann froze, utterly embarrassed as his eyes glanced to the floor panel that would lift up and reveal the Selfix armor he had designed, ready to go. "I-uh." Stuttering and frustrated, Stetmann forced himself to just get it out in a jumbled blurt. "It'shereinthelab!"

Having stood up while Stetmann was silent and then stuttering, Jayce's eyes half closed as she attempted to stifle the annoyance she felt at the kind of blunder he had made. How do you forget something that's _right there?_ Taking a steadying breath, she replied calmly. "I'm coming to the Lab. Be ready."

"But Jayce the broodmo-" Jayce had already ended the call and was running for the Lab, Stetmann glanced at Shlassa worriedly and she glared back.

Horner couldn't hide his surprised expression when his hail was responded to and not only did the image of a stern-looking protoss Judicator appear, but the fine features of a very uncomfortable looking Valerian Mengsk did as well.

Jerking his head back slightly in surprise, Horner couldn't keep from sounding flabbergasted. "Valerian?"

"Captain Horner." Valerian inclined his head slightly. "This is... Not exactly how I wanted us to meet again." The corner of his lip twitched of its own accord. This was not going as planned, not at all.

_I have only accepted this transmission as a courtesy, more than you deserve as a zerg._ Judicator Holrim intoned icily. He had intended for Valerian to see the full extent of their zerg corruption, but the captain of the Hyperion showed the opposite. Unfortunate.

Frowning and ignoring Valerian for the time being, that could be addressed later, Horner focused on the Judicator. "We are not here to fight with protoss, and we are in full control of ourselves. We simply want to pick up our crew from the moon and leave, nothing more." Horner went through the rhetoric, knowing full well in his heart that the protoss were already set on their destruction, even if he lied a bit about being in full control.

"Judicator, please. What has happened to Jim and his men is horrible, but reversible! I have seen with my own two eyes the reversal of infestation." Valerian seized on Horner's words and hoped to drive a crack in the Judicators resolve. All he managed to do was get a curious look from Horner.

_No. I see now where your loyalties lie, young Terran. Leave now or prepare for battle, we await your decision._ And like that, their talk had ended. Judicator Holrim had ended the three way communication abruptly, and Horner quickly found out why.

A flash freeze had taken the protoss' main base during their talk and the Judicator had ended their negotiations as soon as it had passed. Horner's eyes widened when the massive signature of a Carrier and an escort of Void Rays lifted off and began a steady approach.

_Protoss air ships are on their way. Raise our shields and prepare for combat._ Horner glared at the display. Nothing could ever go smoothly.

**Kaldir – Ice Caves**

Arm blades extended, Tychus snarled at the Ursadon and took a long step forwards, taking a stab at the creature. To his surprise, the Ursadon opened its mouth and stumbled backwards, snarling in confusion. "Rah!" Snarling back and following his momentum, Tychus took a second swipe with his next stride and paused, dumbfounded. The Ursadon jerked backwards once more, turning and running into the dark without looking back. "Uh. Well, it's gone."

Eyeing the white creature until it left his sight, Tychus turned around to see Jim struggling to unpin himself from the ice and Warfield sitting up to tentatively touch his sensitive, freshly healed over shoulder.

Snapping one arm free, Jim held his hand up for assistance and Tychus gave him a hard tug upwards. The majority of the spines on his back and thighs being separated from his body made a queer crackling sound, and Jim clenched his teeth at the discomfort of it.

"Need to get movin'. Who knows when them protoss are gonna come pourin' down one of these tunnels for us." Glancing upwards at the hole they fell through, Tychus eyed the dark sky warily.

"Don't care to be hit by one of those cannons again, that's for sure. In all my years, never felt a pain quite like that." Warfield agreed heartily, the horrible burning sensation still fresh on his mind as he looked at their two directional options. "But which way?"

Rolling his shoulders and taking a slow breath, Jim surveyed both directions quickly before nodding in the direction the Ursadon ran. "That Ursadon must've been young. I've seen these things full grown before and they are massive. We need to find ourselves the Matriarch before we can get outta here, so lets follow."

"That was a small one?" Tychus muttered as they began their quick-paced march down the tunnel. That things head was almost level with his, he wasn't sure he wanted to see what a full grown one was like.

The ambiance of the claustrophobic ice tunnels that spanned outwards like a spider webs was enough to set their nerves alight and keep the three on high alert. From the clicking and scraping of claws, not always their own, to the shifting of ice and sharp sighs of wind that managed to find its way down to them, it was hard to focus on the distant heartbeat of the one beast they were tracking. Smells bombarded them at times too, when the wind pulled air up from some deep pit where refuse had piled up and no amount of freezing could kill the stench.

In time, their pace slowed; something was up ahead and all three quietly acknowledged it with their shifts of posture and quieting of footsteps. One rapid heartbeat merged into many slower ones and quick, panting breaths split into so many it became one again.

_This whole place is... Breathing. _Warfield noted warily. The air had warmed a few notable degrees, pushing and pulling as though the tunnel itself had become some living, breathing thing.

_Stink ain't getting any better either. Where are all the Ursadons? _Tychus glared ahead, trying to get a bead on anything at all.

Raynor cautiously ran his hand across the icy wall next to him, frowning when he withdrew it and it was covered in thick white hairs. _A den. Why wouldn't it be?_

With caution, the three scaled a gentle incline that was obscuring their view. Their tunnel opened up into a dark, grand cavern and they were on a shelf of ice overlooking it. Scattered and heaped throughout the whole cave was possibly an entire herd of sleeping Ursadon, the one they had pursued no doubt hiding somewhere in there. In the center of the snoring pit was the biggest, grandest Ursadon any of the three had ever seen or wanted to see.

Ducking down to all fours, eyes wide, they each exchanged nervous glances.

_And how do you propose us three kill that thing with its entire pack right there, Jimmy? _Tychus was bitter, this mission had done nothing but suck from the get-go.

_I have no idea._ Jim admitted, looking at their latest hopeless obstacle with rising ire.

Warfield leaned forwards, gazing around thoughtfully. _Lure them away from the Matriarch, kill it while it's alone? Or at least with fewer around it._

Jim did a quick double-take when, looking at other tunnel entrances and considering Warfield's idea, he saw two pairs of soft glowing eyes glaring at them. Those eyes were unmistakably Protoss. _Ah hell._

Calling Tychus and Warfield's attention, all three were soon glaring back at the protoss across the cavern, an army of Ursadon between the two groups.

Tychus smirked broadly, stifling a chuckle. _Looks like the ol' protoss are just as stuck as us._ His mirth quickly faded when one, clearly a Zealot of some sort, extended its psi blades and stepped forwards purposefully.

_You don't think they'll...? _Warfield's eyes widened in alarm before looking at Jim for some sort of confirmation.

Jim kept his eyes on the two protoss, thinking hard. _I don't know. Ursadon will attack them just as sure as they'll attack us._

Across the room, Arut and Lassara were taking stock of the situation.

_I see them, Lassara. _Arut was ready, ready to fight and die for Aiur and all that the zerg had befouled with their touch. But the Ursadon were in the way.

Lassara was looking at the cave in wonder. She knew where their sleeping dens were and had studied them thoroughly of course, but seeing it in person- even if the smell was awful- was a whole new experience. _They must be after the Matriarch, Arut. Why else would they come? A powerful creature like that could be a true terror if corrupted. _Eyes hardening as she pinpointed the three figures crouched across from them, lumbering and terrifying in their own way, she knew what must be done. _I will charm the Ursadon to assist you. Mind the Matriarch- it is well beyond my ability to control, but she should assist her children._

The Ursadon were already stirring, unfamiliar smells and sounds bringing the sleepy creatures to wakefulness. Arut stood tall and readied himself. _Should I fall, you will escape and direct reinforcements to this location. Under no circumstances will you remain fighting._ Lassara acknowledged her brother wordlessly, straightening and focusing on the Ursadon.

_Go now, brother. En taro Tassadar!_

_En taro Tassadar! _Arut roared, simultaneously disbursing into pure energy and appearing on the low ledge the three infested were perched, already swinging his psi blades with lethal accuracy. Within the moment her brother engaged, energy surrounded Lassara as she expanded her conscious to influence the majority of the Ursadon in the cave, leaving her glowing like a beacon and vulnerable as she concentrated. The soft glowing of a received message on her datapad, secure in her armor, went unnoticed.

"HELL!" Tychus bellowed, ensuring every Ursadon within hearing range was now awake. When the Zealot appeared between the three, whirling like some kind of devil, the only thing that saved Tychus' head from being neatly severed was his surprised jerk backwards. As it was, the psi blade had burned a path straight across his collar bone and part of his shoulder, and a few of Jim's spines tumbled to the floor when he had ducked to also avoid a quick beheading.

Stumbling back from the armored alien warrior, the three were immediately locked in a battle to the death while Warfield distanced himself. Though the Zealot was a concern, the remaining protoss across the way and the now roused and snarling Ursadon- including the massive Matriarch, were also a threat. Using the advantage of the high ground, Warfield busied himself slicing and snarling at any Ursadon trying to climb up to them- rendering them sluggish from the paralytic venom on his claws. The glowing protoss would have to wait a moment.

There was no time for reluctance, Jim was at peace with ending this warriors life. He knew the protoss too well to believe there was a peaceful resolution to this altercation. Already he had flung several spines at his foe, watching them ricochet off the standard protoss shielding. The plasma shield would not hold out forever though, so long as Tychus and him could avoid being cut to ribbons before it gave out.

For his part, Tychus had done well in recovering. Inserting himself against Arut's flank and forcing him to focus on his very real melee threat while Jim could fire upon the Zealot unimpeded was working. He had not brought his blades to bear though and Jim couldn't fathom why, especially since he was barely avoiding evisceration and receiving more than a fair share of wounds that steamed in the cold air.

_Tychus, use your blades!_ Jim leaped away from the Zealot's quick dash towards him, dancing along the edge of the ledge and slicing into the muzzle of a massive Ursadon in alarm with his toe claws when it took a snap at his feet.

_Not yet Jimmy, get that damn shield down!_ Snarling, Tychus was swiping furiously at the shield and forcing Jim's attacker away once again. Not normally visible to the eye, Jim could see the plasma shield becoming threadbare, weakening rapidly from the attacks received.

Arut danced along the edge of the ledge, simultaneously defending against Tychus' blows and repaying them in kind with his psi blades. The agony on the mutated Terran's features bolstered his resolve- he was winning, and when the biggest fell the rest would follow. The Ursadon were also climbing, grasping and snarling at Tychus and Jim, forcing Tychus to defend himself on two fronts and Jim to repel them.

_Push him towards me Tychus! _Warfield cried, spraying an Ursadon in the face with yellowy hallucinogenic paste that erupted from his forearms. The protoss was being drawn towards him and the General had a plan.

_Yes sir!_ Tychus grinned savagely, redoubling his effort and driving the protoss warrior backwards. Though the Ursadon were biting at his ankles and had gotten a few swipes at his leathery hide, Tychus was none the worse for wear from their assault and the protoss was making the mistake of giving the creatures more credit than they were worth. Many had already fallen down, impaled by spines and wailing death cries.

It happened so fast. One second Tychus had made a quick ram against the protoss' plasma shield, officially shattering it, forcing the protoss to stumble backwards slightly. Warfield shifted from defending against the Ursadon to springing at Arut's back and grabbing his power armor in his talons- taking the backwards momentum of the protoss and redirecting it. Arut was unceremoniously hurled into the bodies of the Ursadon below, disappearing.

Breathing hard, the three stood on the ledge and gazed downwards as the Ursadon backed off momentarily to see what had fallen in their midst. To the groups surprise, the Zealot was glaring up at them from the ground, untouched by the beasts around him. Standing up, Arut rolled his shoulders and made to leap back up to them, eager to rejoin the battle. It was his final mistake.

Through minor precognition, Arut saw his demise coming when he was airborne and unable to change course, the huge brute he was about to careen into had arm blades that were flipping into place and the spiny one that had been hurling spikes at him the entire time already had one in hand. The third, who had been defending them from the Ursadon, had his eyes set on a point above the beasts below them- no doubt on Lassara. Without hesitation, Arut urgently called to his sister. _Lassara, run!_

Tychus' blades snapped into place as he swung his arms together, bringing them down on the Zealot's thin midsection like a giant pincer. Arut's eyes widened as he was neatly severed above the waist, his psi blades disbursing as his torso tumbled over Tychus and was tossed by the upward thrust of his shoulders- his waist and legs falling back downwards, still twitching. The emergency teleportation device in the chest of his power armor began to glow, a final attempt to save him from being completely destroyed. As he reached up to touch it, falling limply to the ice behind Tychus, a long spine impaled his skull from the side and the light of the warriors eyes died as his torso was teleported away. There would be no chance at serving again.

An anguished, uncontrolled scream burst from Lassara and both Jim and Tychus spun around to look at the last protoss remaining. Warfield hadn't wasted any time making his way towards it and was leaping over, on and around stumbling Ursadons that seemed disoriented. The Matriarch, however, was pissed. The massive Ursadon hadn't joined the fray while they were fighting the protoss, thankfully, but now that the scent of blood was in the air and hallucination-wracked ursadon were beginning to attack their own, who were confused by the sudden loss of guidance from Lassara; the Matriarch had caught sight of Warfield and was seeing red, charging after him and even trampling some of it's own in the process.

_Watch it Warfield, Momma's angry!_ Jim called urgently, looking at Tychus and trying to get a bead on what his crazy friend might be thinking.

_I'm aware, get this thing off of me Raynor! Can't let that protoss escape! _Warfield had leaped onto a low, sloping shelf of ice and tumbled away as a paw bigger than him swung and carved through the entire mass- an explosion of ice and sound mixing with the cacophony of noises that were filling the cavern deafeningly.

"Shit. Lets go partner!" Jim shouted, gesturing for Tychus to follow when he seemed to be waiting for Jim to decide what to do. Together the two charged and leaped down into the newly bloomed battlefield, Tychus acting like a battering ram while Jim hurled spines at anything that looked their way. There would be no better opportunity to bring the Matriarch down than now.

Lassara, stunned by the violent severing of her connection with Arut, stumbled backwards. Her control of the Ursadon had slipped and they were running amok, killing one another in their confusion and pain. Grasping at her face, it only dimly registered that one of the infested was coming- and fast. Turning away, she made to run like ordered, but only managed a numb walk. Arut was gone. There wouldn't even be any glorious service as an Immortal, should he have chosen- she knew he would have.

Warfield kept running. The tunnel that protoss had walked down was far too small for the bulk of this thing chasing him, or at least that's what he was counting on. A massive bellow from behind sprayed thick strips of saliva all over his back, along with a wave of scalding hot breath; his legs pumped for all they were worth, carrying him towards the ledge the two protoss had been standing on. He was going to have to jump and he'd either make it or become a chew toy, it was up in the air which it'd be.

Jim and Tychus erupted into a semi clear area, corpses and beasts too maimed to be a threat were laying all around. "Look out!" Knocking into Tychus' side and shoving him away, Jim ripped a spine off his thigh and took aim as Warfield approached his final jump. The Matriarch was going to catch him, that much was clear from where Jim was standing. At the last second he let fly the spine with as much force as he could muster, letting out a sharp _oomph_ of effort.

Leaping upwards, Warfield focused intensely on the ledge and let fate deal with the rest. Thankfully, one of the Matriarch's eyes erupted in a gory display as Jim's well-aimed spine hit home and rooted deep. Letting out an awful roar, it changed course from Warfield and stumbled backwards on all fours to spin around and face Jim and Tychus, blood oozing out of its eye socket and steaming.

"Well I surely hope you planned a bit farther ahead than just shooting it, Jimmy." Tychus tensed with his blades at the ready, stricken with a feeling of being awfully small- not something the big man could say very often, and not something he was ever comfortable with.

"No." Jim admitted, shrugging and admiring his handy work nonchalantly. The Matriarch charged them with renewed fury while Warfield scrabbled on to the ledge and immediately charged off after the protoss.

* * *

><p>I did not want to end this chapter at a 4-way cliffhanger, but the chapter was going to easily get over 7k words if I kept going and I don't really consider that a comfortable reading length. So the next chapter is gonna be the REAL fun one, sorry friends!<p> 


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